Trapped in Termina
by brown phantom
Summary: LinkxRomani. Divergent from 'Majora's Mask'. Done with his quest in Termina, Link decides it's time to go home. However, he can't leave, and years later, a new evil threatens Termina. Rated for language and violence.
1. Another Three Days

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter One: Another Three Days

The fourth day, the day of the carnival, had finally come. Everyone who had resided in Termina's Clocktown and fled disaster was getting ready to return home and have the carnival. When it finally happened, it was a blast. Especially for the one who made it all possible: Link of Hyrule.

Now that he was finally out of the three day time loop, which he had spent about two months in, Link could actually enjoy what he had worked so hard for. He had been told by his fairy partner Tatl to go home right away, but he refused. He wanted to have some fun first. Link may be the Hero of Time, but he was also a kid.

Link enjoyed the sights and festivities. He showed the Bomber's Gang his completed notebook, which greatly impressed their leader Jim. He saw some of the carnival's exhibits, displays, and kiosks. Later he was more interested in hanging out with Romani, who had come with Cremia to attend Kafei and Anju's wedding. Kafei, now in his true adult body, invited Link as well. Afterwards, he challenged the farmgirl to a contest at the Clocktown shooting range. He won, but amazingly only by a little. She was better than he thought.

The carnival ended with a great fireworks show that could almost be seen from Great Bay and a final concert by the Indigo-Gos. Link had to pretend to be Mikau for the shows most of the day. Eventually things died down, everyone went home and Link went to the Stock Pot Inn because Anju decided to let him have one free night to thank him for his help.

On the fifth day, Link decided to go home. He got his horse Epona and went to the area under the clock tower and eventually made it back to the room where he had been transformed into a Deku Scrub. He and Epona were about to climb out, since he had fallen into the room, but he discovered a problem: There was no way out.

Link shot a light arrow to confirm there was no longer a deep abyss that connected this room to Hyrule. There wasn't, just a stone roof where the hole once was. He then tried a Bombchu, but that just made a lot of rubble. He was confused; it was as if the entrance he had originally used had simply vanished from existence.

Link irritably kicked a loose rock, then remembered the Happy Mask Shopowner. Since he could get from Hyrule to Termina and back again, there had to be a way. But, surely the shopowner had already gotten beyond his reach. Groaning, Link pulled out the Ocarina of Time.

"Great. Another three days." He sarcastically said before he played the Song of Time and felt the very familiar sensation of going back in time. But this time felt different. His skin felt hot and gritty, like he was back in the Gerudo desert, and he felt a chill in his bones, like he was back in the Shadow Temple. Also, it seemed to take him a little longer to go back this time.

But Link soon saw the rising sun and heard a cucco crow. It took one second for him to confirm it was the first day again. Oddly, he had somehow regained all the masks he had given up to gain the Fierce Deity's Mask, which he still had, and Tatl was back at his side.

"Oh great. Here we go again." The fairy dryly stated when she realized where and when she was.

So once again, Link and Tatl embarked to fix everything in Termina in just three days. It was fortunate that with the Fierce Deity's Mask, he could vanquish all four temple bosses in one cycle.

He barely got a moment's rest, but Link did everything he needed to do. He helped Romani defeat the ghosts and Cremia defend her milk. He returned the Deku princess home, saved the Zora eggs, helped the Zora band write a new song, and helped Kafei and Anju reunite yet again. He also cured the cursed ghost Sharp and restored the Ikana river. Then he cured the mummified scientist and the invisible soldier, and put the Ikana King to rest along with Skull Keeta. Link opened up the way to the Goron races but didn't participate in them this time. He taught the twin dancers their routine, brought medicine to the hurt witch in the swamp, and acquired a Moon's Tear, thinking it would make a good gift for someone back in Hyrule.

When he was finally done, Link just had to rest. He did for a bit in Anju's room to again reassure her Kafei would show up. She believed him, but wondered how he knew the exact minute her fiancee would show up.

Then, Link faced the Skull Kid and went into the moon to defeat Majora's Mask. It was quicker this time, mainly because he knew what to expect and had ignored the four other masked kids. He killed the mask and the moon went back where it belonged. Link appeared in the field of Termina and did what he desperately needed to do: He slept.


	2. Bad News

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Two: Bad News

Link woke up to find he was no longer in Termina field but someones bed and house. He immediately asked himself where he was and how he got there. The only thing familiar he saw was his equipment lying by the wall, nothing missing. When he got up and put his equipment back in place, he looked out the window.

Link saw Romani Ranch basking in the morning sunlight. Before he could see if anyone was outside, Tatl came in thru the window, which surprised the Hylian boy enough to make him fall backwards.

"'Bout time you're up hero boy." The opinionated fairy stated. "You slept right thru the carnival this time."

Link paled. "What day is it?"

"The day after the carnival."

Link put his head in his hands. "Crap! I missed him again!"

"_Please_ tell me we're not going back _again_! I'm so tired of it."

Link stood up. "Believe me, I hate it more than you do. But this is my only way home." Tatl sighed as he pulled out the ocarina and played the Song of Time.

Nothing happened.

Link and Tatl looked at each other in shock. Link played the song again but nothing happened still. Both were too stunned to notice Cremia and Romani were now standing at the open doorway to the room.

"But... why?" was all Link could mutter.

"Maybe you're not supposed to go back anymore." Tatl said with mixed feelings, mostly confusion and relief.

Link then remembered the last time he had gone back in time, and recalled that it was almost like something was resisting him. Maybe he had simply gone back too many times, or had missed the window of opportunity. Whatever the cause, it was clear he couldn't go back. All he could do was wait for the Happy Mask Shopowner to return to Termina so he could find the way out.

"Is everything okay?" Cremia asked, gaining her guest's attention.

Link slumped his shoulder's and sighed in defeat, not something he did often. "Yeah, I'm... just tired."

"I should probably go. Tael's waiting. See you around Link." Tatl said before departing. As she flew off, she kept shooting concerned looks back at Link, but was trying to hide it.

Link sat on the floor, looking as glum as the cucco guy. He was trapped in this place until the one guy who knew how to leave returned. And even if he _could_ go back in time again, Link felt he simply didn't have it in him to do it all over again.

"Something wrong, Grasshopper?" Romani asked.

"I... just need some time to think." Link replied before lying down, ready to sleep some more.


	3. Link's Life Story

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Three: Link's Life Story

It was sunset now and Link hadn't left Romani Ranch yet. In fact, he spent most of the day outside by the stable that Epona used and was in. He kept to himself and stared at the sky, lost in thought and glad that the moon was where it belonged. He could see it a little, like one normally could in the day, and there it strangely looked like a normal moon. He couldn't make out the face at all now.

Romani and Cremia had left him alone all day, but now the younger girl shyly approached the green-clad boy. "Um... Grasshopper?" No response. "Link? Would you like some dinner?" They both heard his stomach growl and knew his answer.

Link joined the two ranchers for dinner. He thanked them both for their hospitality and ate much more civilly then one would expect of him. He did guzzle down quite a bit of milk though. He didn't contribute much to the conversation as always, so the two girls did most of the talking at first.

"Say, little boy, is it true that you were the one that stopped the moon?" Cremia asked, hoping to brighten the Hylian boy's mood.

"Where'd you hear that?" Link asked, curious.

"Well, that fairy told us the other day. Plus the carpenter's boss at the carnival said he saw you go up the clock tower just before the moon vanished." Cremia answered.

"Well... yeah, I did. But four giants helped too." Link modestly told them, not feeling boastful over his deeds.

Nevertheless, Romani was quite impressed. "Wow. You're a hero."

"I guess. Back home I'm called the Hero of Time." Link added. Normally he'd say this with more enthusiasm, but today he had a lot on his mind.

"Really?" Both girls asked.

"Yeah. Back home, in Hyrule, I had to fight in two times seven years apart to defeat one man, a Gerudo named Ganondorf." Link explained. "It wasn't easy."

"What did you do?" Romani eagerly asked. She loved to hear adventure stories.

"First, I had to acquire three sacred stones, cure a tree of a curse, or at least try to, then save the Goron's food supply, and rescue a Zora princess inside a whale." Link shuddered a little and looked down. "Ugh. That last one gave me nightmares for a week. You want disturbing? Try being in a whale's gut. The smell alone is enough to make you want to swear off eating fish."

Link noticed their bothered faces and quickly changed the subject. "Sorry about that. After that part, I had to travel forward in time and became an adult. Then I had to rescue six people called sages, most who were close friends to me. I even had to go back and forth thru time a few times, so I lost track of how long it took me to do the job."

"Eventually I faced Ganon himself." Link continued. "He simply refused to accept defeat. When he finally did go down, the princess of Hyrule had to seal him in another realm. Then she sent me back to my original time, which is now, and it was like nothing had happened."

Link sighed. "Then I was on my way home and I got ambushed by the Skull Kid and brought here."

Link's eyes widened. The Skull Kid had gotten to Hyrule. He must surely know how to get back. Tomorrow Link would find him and find out how to get home.

"Wow." Romani said. "You've really done all that?" Link nodded. "That... you're right. It doesn't sound easy." Something appeared to be on her mind all of a sudden. "Hey. While you're here, could you stay and help out around the ranch for a few days?"

"Romani!" Cremia gently scolded her younger sister.

"Why not?" Romani countered. "We could use a man around here. Besides, that vagabond does nothing that's not cucco-related and our aunt's too obsessed with her dogs to find a husband. Link here helped us out greatly several times. The least we can do to repay him is offer him a place to stay until he goes home."

"Thanks, but I'll probably just sleep outside tonight." Link said.

"Why?" Romani asked, sounding just slightly disappointed.

"Well, I might be able to go back home tomorrow. And I'm used to sleeping outside anyway. I appreciate the offer." Link explained.

"I don't like the idea of a young boy sleeping outside, even if he's an experienced warrior." Cremia countered. "I insist you sleep in the guest room tonight."

"Why can't he sleep in our room like last night?" Romani asked, surprising Link.

"Because last night we needed to keep an eye on him since he wouldn't wake up." Cremia answered. "And because I'm sure you'll try to sleep next to him again, which you shouldn't do."

"You... slept right next to me?" Link asked, more than a little embarrassed.

"We found you passed out in the field and brought you here." Cremia told the boy before Romani could say anything. "We put you in her bed to keep an eye on you, and she apparently decided to keep you company."

Link adverted his gaze and took another bite of his meal. But he still couldn't stop blushing and occasionally glancing at Romani once in a while.

--

Link was now in the house's guestroom on the ground floor. He laid back on a futon-like mattress staring at the ceiling, unable to get to sleep just then. He heard the door open and sat up right away. Romani walked in and sat down next to him like it was completely natural.

"Umm... what are you doing?" Link asked.

Romani giggled. "For someone as brave as you claim to be, you sure get nervous around girls, Grasshopper."

"Well, I've only really been around four girls back home, and none were as direct as you."

"Four girls, huh?" Romani asked. "Any of them cuter than Romani?"

Link couldn't tell if she was jealous or just toying with him. "Well, one of them looks an awful lot like you. But... you're more of a spitfire than she is." She gave him a look. "It's a good thing you're like that. It makes you more fun to be around."

"What about the other three?"

Link took a deep breath. "One's a Zora, one's a princess, and the other's a Kokiri. And no, they're not cuter than you."

Romani blushed and swatted him on his chest. "Oh, you're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I don't find Zoras cute, and Saria, the Kokiri girl, is cute, but she's practically a sister to me. As for Zelda, the princess, you're definitely cuter than she is."

Romani smiled then hugged him friendly. "Will Grasshopper promise to visit Romani in the future?"

Link patted her head. "Grasshopper promises." He then laid back on the futon and Romani cuddled up next to him. "Does Romani plan on sleeping next to Grasshopper all night?" He asked, deliberating mimicking the way she talked.

"You weren't complaining last night." She coyly told him.

"And I'm not complaining tonight either." He reassured her. "But... may I ask why?"

Romani shrugged and yawned. "I don't know. Just like it. You're warmer and more comforting than any teddy bear, that's for sure."

The ranch girl then closed her eyes and went to sleep. Link stayed up a little longer, surprised that he actually was this close to a girl, and not as bothered by it as he would have thought before.


	4. Search for Hyrule

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Four: Searching For Hyrule

"Romani! You are in big trouble young lady!"

Link and Romani jolted up wide awake to see an upset Cremia standing at the door of the room.

"What did I do wrong?" Romani asked.

"You are too young to be sleeping with a boy!" Cremia was sure that nothing else had happened, since both kids were fully clothed and too young to be influenced by hormones. But she had to set boundaries for her younger sister.

"Don't you trust me? Or Link?" Romani asked.

"I'm sure nothing... improper happened. But still, you're both too young for such things. If you start now, it'll lead to... complications." Cremia told them both.

"Sorry we upset you." Link apologized. "I should probably get going."

"Can he stay for breakfast?" Romani asked her sister. "It would be rude to send him off without a meal first."

It was obvious that she didn't want Link to leave just yet. "Well, I suppose we can do that." Cremia relented, and the three went to the dining room.

--

When they finished eating, Cremia tended to the cattle while Romani stood with Link at the entrance to the ranch. "How long will you be gone this time?" The ranch girl sadly asked.

"I'm not sure. It may be years." He told her.

"Please don't forget Romani." She said, trying to hide a single tear.

Link pulled her into a hug. "I could never forget you."

Romani looked right into his eyes happily. "Just to be sure. Romani has two things for you to remember her by." She pulled out a jar filled with milk, which by an amazing coincidence was the same one she had given him after he first helped her. "I borrowed one of your jars since you like our milk so much."

Link took it and put it back where he kept all his things. "What's the other thing?"

"This." Romani said before pulling the Hylian boy into a deep kiss. Link liked it, but was so surprised he didn't return it. When they finished, Romani playfully smiled. "You don't get another one until you return." She hoped that encouraged him.

Link grinned and reached into a pocket. He surprised her by pulling out a Moon's Tear. "Here. Something for you to remember me by."

Romani gasped as she took it, needing both hands to hold the large cosmic sapphire, more from surprise than weight. "Thank you. It's beautiful." She said quietly, shedding a tear or two.

"I'll be back someday." Link told her before he perched on Epona and left. Both felt a little sad as the other faded from view. For Link, it was because he liked being with someone who wanted to connect with him, unlike most of the Kokiri. For Romani, it was because she barely got to be around anyone her own age and make friends, and she felt she was losing the only one she had now.

--

It didn't take long for Link to find the Skull Kid, since the imp liked to play in the southern part of Termina's field. The imp was climbing one of the trees, accompanied by the Tatl and Tael. Link called his name, but Tatl was the first to respond.

"Hi Link. What brings you here?"

"Tatl, how did you and the Skull Kid get to where you found me?"

Tatl was silent for a moment. "Sorry, but I was asleep at the time. When I woke up, we were already there."

Link sighed as Tael and the Skull Kid landed in front of him. "Hi green boy. What brings you here?" The imp asked.

"Do you remember how you got to my world?" Link asked.

The Skull Kid blinked. "It was the same way you got here. Just go that way backwards."

"I did. It didn't work, just led to a dead end."

"How could that be? Did it just seal up on it's own?" The Skull Kid asked.

"Wait. I think I know what happened." Tael spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "After we got that mask from that guy, I went back to see if he was okay. I overheard him say something about how the connection between our lands would only last four more days. If he failed to get the mask by then, he'd have to wait five years before being able to come here again like that."

"What does that mean? That the bridge between his home and ours is only open for a few days every five years?" Tatl questioned.

"You got a better explanation?" Tael replied.

Link groaned in frustration and cussed. He really was stranded in this world, even if only for five years. "Thanks for your help." He said before leading Epona away.

"Wait." Tatl caught him. "What are you going to do?" She sounded worried.

"Survive." Link answered. "See you later Tatl." He then galloped away.


	5. Late Night

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Five: Late Night

For the rest of the day, Link and Epona wandered aimlessly around Termina. Eventually they made it back to Milk Road without trying to. He had nowhere else to go, and really didn't feel like finding somewhere else to camp out. So with no reason not to, he decided to go somewhere where he'd see a friendly face.

Epona trotted back into the ranch and Link got off his horse at the gate. The two slowly walked towards the house, wondering what the inhabitants would say about this. Romani, who had been practicing with her bow, saw them and rushed over, confused, excited, and overjoyed.

"Grasshopper? You're back so soon. Weren't you going home?"

"I can't. The way back won't open for another five years, so I'm going to be stuck here for quite a while." He told her sadly.

Romani sensed his upset and understood it completely. She'd be depressed if she was cut off from everything she knew for so long, forced to adapt to someplace new. So to help him feel better, she took ahold of one of his hands. "Well, if that's the case, then you can stay here as long as you need to. You have nowhere else to go, right?"

"Yeah." He softly replied. "But what about your sister?"

"Romani'll handle her, but she should be no problem." The ranch girl confidently answered. "Would you... like to stay?"

Link smiled a little. "There's no place in Termina I like more."

This made Romani smile more. "Come inside. Romani needs to show you around what'll be your home." She tried to pull him towards the house.

"No need. You've already done that."

This stopped her. "I did? When?"

"I'll explain later, but I wouldn't mind going inside." Link told her. "Say, don't I get a returning kiss like you promised?"

Romani smiled, blushed, and briefly hid her face, but soon pulled Link into another kiss, which he returned this time. "Let's go inside. You must be tired."

--

It was late at night and Link and Romani were sitting in front of the fireplace. They both had an arm around the other and were chatting. Cremia couldn't hear them so they talked uninhibited.Link liked it. He had never really gotten the chance to get close to a girl other than Saria. He was just too busy back then.

"So... you had to repeat the three days before the carnival over and over again?" Romani asked, hoping she understood what he had been saying.

"Yeah, and it wasn't easy. I had to use a few of those times to just rest. When I did, I was always here." He answered.

"Why?"

"Well, one cycle I checked to see what happened if I didn't do anything, out of curiosity. Apparently, the ghosts stole you and the cows. You were returned on the third day, but it was like your mind was gone. You were joyless and had no memory, and it crushed your sister."

Romani dropped her jaw but covered her gaping mouth.

"After that, I swore that I would never let you suffer like that again if I wasn't busy on the first night. So every time I had the chance, I came here at night to get rid of those damn ghosts. Then I could rest for two days and help out around here, mostly by helping Cremia deliver her milk. Or play with you, which was always fun."

Romani calmed down and pulled him into a small hug. "Romani's flattered she was such a high priority."

"Well, you are my only friend here, besides Tatl, and... you are the cutest girl I know." Link told her.

"What about that other girl?" Romani asked. "The one that looks a lot like me?"

"You're funner to be with." He replied. "Malon was always more interested in being with her horses. If anything she was more like Cremia than you." Both were silent for a moment. "Enough about me. Surely you have some interesting things to talk about."

"No, not really." Romani shook her head. "How can Romani compete with such a hero, when she never leaves the ranch?"

"Really?"

"Well, maybe once in a while, like for the carnival. And back when Daddy was alive, we'd go to Great Bay every year. But we haven't done that since he died." She then looked down at her feet and pulled her arm off him. "Mostly Romani stays here all the time."

Link tightened his hold on the ranch girl. "Maybe someday I'll show you around Termina."

"I'd like that, Grasshopper. And I wouldn't object to being able to see your country too someday." Romani said cheerfully as she returned her gaze to him. "Tell me about your country." She suddenly got into a more relaxed and comfortable position, like she was expecting a bedtime story.

Link absentmindedly stroked some stray hairs of her into place. "Hyrule's a beautiful place very different from Termina, but with some similarities. I lived in Kokiri Forest with the Kokiri until I started my journey. There's no ocean, just a long river and huge lake which both belong to the Zoras. The Gorons stick to Death Mountain, which is a volcano instead of a snow magnet like Snowhead. The Gerudo stay in the desert, which is on the west side of a canyon smaller than Ikana. And there are two towns, not one."

Romani looked up at him. "Sounds like a nice place to visit... or live."

"Romani. Bedtime." Cremia's voice could be heard calling from upstairs.

Romani got up. "See you tomorrow, Grasshopper." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You sure like doing that." Link commented.

"And why wouldn't I like it?" She coyly asked before going up to her room. Link later put the fire out and went to sleep in the guest room again.


	6. Bad Dreams

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Six: Bad Dreams

Link saw himself standing in a pitch black room, with a single beam of light above him like a spotlight. It was somewhat cold and very uninviting.

"Where the hell am I? How did I get here?"

Link was so sure he was at Romani Ranch just a moment ago. This place was completely new to him. The closest thing he could think of to this were the times he had to enter some graves. This place even felt like a grave, but had no scent of dirt or death. It was... a dark void.

Link then heard a sound and reached for his sword. He was more than surprised to see his hand come back empty. In a panic, he checked his back and found it bare except for his tunic. No sword, no sheath, no shield, no bow, no quiver. He then quickly checked where he kept the rest of his stuff. There was nothing there either. He was completely unarmed.

Nervous, Link checked for whatever was coming for him. Right then he wished he had learned to fight with his fists instead of being dependent on weapons. A tingle went down his spine all of a sudden and his danger sense went thru the roof. He checked behind him and saw a large set of yellow eyes glaring at him.

"I won't be beat by you." A sinister, booming voice was heard.

Link then opened his eyes and saw he was back in the guestroom at the Romani Ranch. He was sitting up and breathing a bit hard, and apparently sweating a tiny bit. He then heard a small scream come from the room above him, then someone walk across the floor. He wondered what was going on up there. He would have gone up to check it out, but he felt he would be invading their privacy. He wasn't on a mission anymore so he couldn't feel right going somewhere uninvited anymore.

It was tough, but Link managed to get back to sleep.

--

The next morning, Link was behind the house practicing with his gilded sword. His dream convinced him that even if he was trapped here for five years, he still needed to stay in top shape. Besides, trouble had a habit of finding him, and it was likely he'd have to help defend all or part of Termina again. At the very least, he wanted to defend this ranch that was nice enough to put up with him.

As he went thru the motions of a spinslash, Romani approached himself with her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes cast low. She seemed really closed off at breakfast, and it bothered Link since he was used to her being much more open and cheerful. He stopped what he was doing and she looked at him more straightforward. She looked bothered or maybe uneasy about something.

"Something wrong, Romani?"

She shook her head. "Grasshopper, Romani wants to ask you something."

He relaxed. "Sure. What is it?"

She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself for this. "Romani would like you to train her."

This surprised the Hylian boy. "You... want me... to _train_ you?"

"Yes." The ranch girl nodded. "And I don't mean just with a bow. Romani wants you to teach her everything you know."

Link tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Why?"

"Well, Romani wanted to know how to use a bow to fight the ghosts. But... something else might threaten me later on. Romani wants your help so if she gets in trouble, she can defend herself."

Link uncrossed his arms. "Why do you think you'll get into trouble like that?"

Romani took a deep breath. "I hope I don't. But... Romani had a bad dream last night, where some creature tried to hurt her and... I couldn't do anything. I... I don't want to be unprepared if something like that really happens to me."

Link shifted his weight from one foot to the other just for something to do. "So... you want me to help you get better with a bow, and learn how to use a sword too?"

Romani nodded. "And anything else you can teach me."

"It's not easy, you know. And I'm more than capable of protecting you if you get into trouble." Link told her.

For the first time since she started, Romani looked directly at Link. "Thanks, Grasshopper, but Romani can't ask that of you. It's not fair to ask you to do all that by yourself. It's not fair that you should do everything alone. Romani wants to help you. Romani wants... to be your friend."

Link's eyes widened a bit. "Aren't we already friends?"

"I don't want to just say we're friends Grasshopper. I want us to actually be friends. I want us to share interests and experiences. I want us to do things together while you're here. I want... you to feel welcome and not alone."

Link was surprised and touched a little. Ever since he left the Kokiri forest, he never really got the chance to get a real friend. Sure, he would call Zelda, Malon, Ruto, and Darunia friends, but he never really got close to any of them. In truth, Saria, Navi, and Tatl were his only real friends while all the others were acquaintances. Now he had the chance to get another one.

Link stepped in closer to her. "I'd like that. And... maybe it'd be fun to have someone to practice with."

Romani smiled and leaned in to hug him. "Thanks, Grasshopper."

"Hey, were you the one screaming last night?" Link suddenly asked, remembering she said she had a bad dream.

"Yeah. I saw... large yellow eyes in a black room and a voice that said 'I won't be beat by you.' It was... pretty scary." Link blanched at the implication, and she saw it. "Something wrong, Grasshopper?"

"Umm... I had the exact same dream last night." Link told her.

Now both were a little worried.


	7. Talking With Cremia

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Seven: Talking With Cremia 

Link sat down to the table in the dining room of the house at Romani Ranch. Cremia was sitting across from him, her left hand holding a cup of tea she had yet to drink from. Romani was outside bringing food to her dog-loving aunt and the gloomy cucco guy, who both preferred to eat by themselves for their own reasons.

Link wasn't nervous, but he was wary. He knew Cremia was going to discuss him possibly living there for five years and whether or not she would allow it. Romani had already talked with her older sister about it and was certain she would accept it. However, the fact that she looked like an employer at an interview just then made Link wonder. He wasn't too worried about her refusing to house him since he could survive on his own. But living like a hermit in a strange country for five years wasn't appealing.

Cremia twirled her tea cup but didn't lift it. She rested her face in her right hand and faced the Hylian boy. "So, it seems you can't return home for five years. And my little sister is fond of the idea of you being here during that time." Sure, it was stating the obvious, but she saw no better way to start things.

Link shyly nodded but said nothing. So Cremia continued. "How do you feel on that, little boy?"

Link cleared his throat and struggled to find the best words. Talking to people wasn't one of his strong points. "I'm not against the idea. It might be nice, but only if you allow it. I promise to learn all you want me to so I can help out here and I can even provide money if it's needed." His bank account in Clocktown was _very_ well stocked.

Cremia took a drink for the first time and thought it over. The ranch was going on hard times due to vandalism and extra help would be appreciated. And this boy had proven himself trustworthy when she last had to make a delivery. Plus, she knew her sister got lonely and attention-hungry with no one else really around so she could use some friendly company. And if he could provide some extra income, that sweetened the deal.

"So, if I house you, what exactly can you do around here?" Cremia asked curiously.

Link stopped to think. "I can take care of my horse, so you don't have to worry about that. I grew up in a forest so I know some things about plant care and foraging. And I can protect this place from basically any kind of threat. Anything else I need to know, I'm willing to learn."

Cremia softly smiled. "Good. Then I guess I'll give you the chance to prove it. I'll let you stay as long as you are as useful as you claim to be and don't hurt my sister." Link nodded, taking the offer. "Do you want to have your own little shack here to stay in like the other two?"

Link shook his head. "Preferably not."

"Okay. Then you can have the guestroom as your own. We don't get guests that often so it's no big loss. Get settled in today and tomorrow I'll start teaching you how to work on a ranch." Cremia said before taking another sip of tea.

"Thank you."

--

Somewhere, in a realm that wasn't Termina or Hyrule, or any mortal world, a dark spirit watched over one of them with great interest. But it wasn't good interest. One of the mortals had angered it. Sure, it wasn't any ordinary mortal, but this wasn't any ordinary spirit. It was wrathful and dangerous.

The spirit looked thru a portal, trying to find the one that angered it not too long ago. "I don't know who you are, or where you come from, but I will find a way to get to you and get revenge. Hmmph. You probably thought I was just a mask with some dark powers, huh? Get ready for a surprise."

The spirit was powerful, but it's connection to the mortal plane was weak and couldn't get there yet. It's medium was a mask, so it could normally only directly affect the world if the mask was being worn. It wasn't, so there was little the spirit could do except build up power and try to torment the mortal it disliked in subtle ways. At least until it got stronger and could get there without the mask being worn.


	8. Home on the Ranch

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Eight: Home on the Ranch

It was now a year after Link stopped the moon from falling on Termina and missed his chance to go home. He had spent all his time working at Romani Ranch. He only left for milk deliveries and to make sure other people and places were still safe. When he had the chance he also went back to each temple to put all the shattered Great Fairies back together. Each one promised to grant a request of his later on.

Link still lived at Romani Ranch and was a great help. He aided Cremia in every task of him and defended them from bandits. He also helped Romani improve her own weapon skills like she asked of him, in both sword skills and archery, and had carved for her a wooden shield and sword like the Kokiri used to practice with. The fact that she had the exact same dream as him at the same time was all the convincing he needed to do it. It had happened again two more times since then, and both times he and she had them simultaneously. Link said it had to be a warning.

The others at Romani Ranch, which was now just Cremia and Romani, liked having Link there. Romani's aunt, the dog lady, had moved to open her dog track in a better location for business by Clocktown, and the cucco guy was forced out when it turned out he was helping the Gorman brothers vandalize the ranch.

Cremia, now with such a good helper, was able to relax a little more. She started thinking of Link as a little brother, and even called him such at times. She only got upset with him when he used foul language, not liking the habit. She really got upset when Romani occasionally cussed too under his influence.

Link and Romani had gotten much closer in the past year as well. They were closer than Link and Saria had been, but it wasn't a brother-sister bond. It couldn't be, since they liked to sneak in a few kisses when no one was looking. About once or twice a month, Romani also would sneak into Link's room to spend more time with him at night and occasionally fall asleep next to him. Cremia was often displeased by this, but Romani always felt it was worth it despite the extra chores as punishment.

--

"Hey Grasshopper!" Romani called out to her best friend and obvious crush. Link was tending to the vegetable garden, which used to be the dog track.

"Yes, Ladybug?" He answered. He long ago gave her a nickname to match his own. He felt 'ladybug' was appropriate because of her red hair.

"Tonight's the night the ghosts come back."

He stood erect in surprise. "Damn. We'll need to get ready for that, but you're helping this time. Let's see how good you are with a bow now."

"Okay." She eagerly told him. Last year she had been afraid to face the cattle-stealing spectres. This year, thanks to Link's help and experience, she felt no fear.

Later that night, the two 11 year-olds stood outside the barn, awaiting the ghosts. Both had their bows out and their quivers full. Romani wore the Bunny Hood, which Link had loaned to her tonight to boast her confidence and speed. Not that she was afraid or slow, but she wasn't as experienced as Link was in these matters.

Link put an arrow in place the exact minute he expected the ghosts to show up. Romani copied him. For a time, nothing happened. Link and Romani waited.

3:00 AM came, and still no sign of the ghosts.

"What's going on?" Romani asked.

"They must be delayed or something." Link suggested.

4:00 AM came, and still no sign of the ghosts.

"I don't think they're coming." Link said, trying to hide a yawn. He wasn't quite used to staying up all night anymore.

"Maybe you scared them away. Last year was the first time they were stopped." Romani mused, getting tired as well.

"Well, then, that's one less thing to worry about." Link said before sitting down. Romani joined him, took off the Bunny Hood, and both fell asleep leaning against the barn.


	9. Celebrations

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Nine: Celebrations

The day of the carnival came, and Cremia decided to take her sister and, by nickname "brother" to the festivities. Link was glad that this year he could enjoy the carnival in complete peace. Everyone else there seemed to be more comfortable this year as well, probably because there hadn't been a giant moon overhanging the town days before.

There were a few things different this year. The most noticeable thing to Link was that the Indigo-Gos had gotten a new guitarist to replace Mikau. It seems they finally found out he had died. There were more kiosks and shops open because the people hadn't fled the city days before like last year. At one of these places Cremia had met up with Anju and Kafei and stopped to say 'hi'.

Link surprised both Romani and Cremia by withdrawing some rupees from his bank account and treating them to dinner at one of Clocktown's restaurants. He then bought them each a present, feeling generous. Cremia got a new violet dress and some scented candles she liked, and Romani got a metal sword and shield like she had been requesting for months now. Link was confident that she could handle them since she was a quick learner and could keep up with him in a spar now. They thanked him and all three went to see the entertainment available.

They left before the carnival ended, but only because they had seen all they wanted to. On the long ride back to the ranch, Link saw Romani looking forlorn towards the west most of the time and he got an idea.

--

A month later it was Link's birthday, or at least they thought it was. After all that time traveling in Hyrule and Termina he was unsure on dates often back then. Also, the Kokiri had no concept of a birthday since they didn't age. So Link never knew he even had one until he found out he was actually a Hylian. Cremia and Romani felt he deserved one, so they decided that one particular day they would celebrate it on.

Cremia gave Link the day off from his responsibilities and the right to go anywhere for the day. He visited Tatl and the Skull Kid for a while at where they lived, then went to Clocktown and got a few things he and the ranch needed. Afterwards, he took Epona for a long walk around Termina for the view and exercise, and returned to the ranch before sunset. They had cake and Chateau Romani milk with dinner. Romani slept in his room that night, which both Link and Cremia had predicted. She didn't make it a regular habit, but she still enjoyed sneaking into his room once in a while for whatever reason she had.

Another month later it was Romani's birthday. At breakfast Cremia gave her a new outfit since she was outgrowing her current one. It was mostly white and purple with a few green stripes at the end of the sleeves and skirt. Everyone thought it would look nice on her.

"Does Grasshopper have something for Romani?" The ranch girl asked the one boy there.

"You doubt me?" He asked back, feigning offense as he pulled out a box. Romani opened it to find a light scarlet one piece swimsuit.

"Thank you Grasshopper, but... I can't swim."

"Well, I guess I'll have to teach you when we go to Great Bay later." He said.

Romani was stunned. "Gr... Great Bay? You're taking me to Great Bay?" He nodded, and if Cremia wasn't there, Romani would have pounced onto him and kissed him silly. So instead, she just grinned brightly.

"Now hold on you two." Cremia piped up, drawing the two preteen's attention. "What makes you think that you two can just go to the ocean like that? I've got a big order to fill, and can't take the time off to take you two."

"Can't we just ride Epona there ourselves?" Romani desperately countered. "With Link there, it's not like we need supervision or protection. _Please_ sis? I really want to go."

Cremia sighed. She had to admit that her sister had a point, and if she did go with them she'd just be a proverbial fifth wheel. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have the place to herself for a day for the first time in... well, possibly ever.

"Alright, I'll let you two go. But be back before dark."

Romani smiled brightly again while Link grinned contently.

--

In the realm of spirits, one particular dark one could tell that the mortal it had a grudge against was feeling quite pleased with himself. While not as strong as it could be, the spirit now at least could do more than give bad dreams now. So for it's first attempt at showing it's new small amount of regained power, it decided that this day would be a very _eventful_ day full of hardships.


	10. Day at the Beach

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Ten: Day at the Beach

_Link:12 Romani:12 Cremia:19_

Link and Romani left for Great Bay right after breakfast, riding Epona to get there. The trip only took a little less than an hour an a half. Romani was excited the whole time, eager to see the sea for the first time in about six years and even more eager to swim in it.

When they got there, they dismounted and took a moment to appreciate the view. The wind smelled salty and the waves splashed gently. Off in the distance you could see the Great Bay temple and the marine researcher's lab. It was everything the ranch girl had hoped for. There was no one else there, but that just meant they had the whole place to themselves. Romani liked the idea.

Link took off his equipment and shirt, but not his hat, and placed them near Epona, who was laying in the shade of one of the umbrellas. He grabbed Romani's hand and tried to pull her towards the water. "C'mon. We didn't come here just to look."

"Umm... could you turn away for a moment?" Romani asked like she was embarrassed.

Link obeyed and turned his gaze away from her. He then heard cloth being ruffled. It was obvious she was getting out of her clothes since her swimsuit was underneath. No wonder she was embarrassed and shy.

When Link was allowed to see her, he made a silent gasp. She had a normal body for a 12 year-old girl beginning to mature, but he thought he was incredibly cute, even beautiful. And while he was admiring her, she was doing the same to him.

After they snapped themselves out of their little stare-fest, both waded into the shallow part of the water. Link supported Romani until she got the hang of floating on her back. It was hard since she was ticklish and he had to ensure his hands stayed in 'safe zones'. Then he helped her float on her stomach and guided her as she tried to move thru the water. By noon, Romani had at least managed to do a successful dog paddle swim on her own and was proud of herself.

A while later, the two preteens got out of the water and laid on one of the many beach towels to relax and get some shade. They each had gotten a bit of a tan by now. "I wonder why no one else is here." Romani thought out loud. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Maybe they're afraid of the Gerudo." Link suggested.

"Not me. Not while you're here." Romani replied.

"You should be afraid." A strange woman's voice called out and something came flying at them. Link instinctively back-jumped out of the way. Romani wasn't as quick and got caught in what turned out to be a net.

Link grabbed his gilded sword and was about to cut the net open, but it was pulled back to the person who threw it, with Romani still in it. Link saw five Gerudo pirates, four looking like the double-sword wielders he had faced before and the fifth looking like a captain.

"You let her go, bitch!" Link shouted as Romani pleaded for help.

"Fat chance green boy." The captain Gerudo said back. "We haven't forgotten what you did to us two years ago. If you want her, come get her." Then the five Gerudo disappeared taking Romani with them in a flash of light.

Link growled, then dressed and equipped himself. He then told Epona to go back to the field and stay there so she wouldn't get taken too. It was unlikely the young colt understood, but she seemed to do it anyway. Link quickly put on the zora's mask, became a zora, and dove into the water.


	11. Romani's Rescue

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Eleven: Romani's Rescue

_Link:12 Romani:12 Cremia:19_

"What do you want from me?" Romani nervously asked as her captors led her to the middle of the throne room. She saw more sword brandishing pirates and someone who looked like she was the leader of the Gerudo.

"You, girl, are the bait we need to catch our little green prey." The leader smugly answered.

Her kidnappers plopped her carelessly in the center of the room, where the hookshot chest used to be, and left her in the net. Romani tried to remain calm and went over everything in her mind Link had taught her. Sadly, it didn't help much because she left her equipment back at the beach. She was trying to follow Link's example and bring it every time she left the ranch, if Cremia wouldn't stop her that is.

So, unarmed, Romani tried to act unintimidated. "Just what do you want from him?"

"He messed up our plans to blackmail the Zora two years ago. For that he must pay." The leader told her.

"What shall we do with the girl, boss?" One of the guards asked.

"Hang her above the tank. I doubt her boyfriend would like the sight of that."

Despite the fact that she felt a little helpless, Romani couldn't help but blush a little at what the Gerudo implied.

--

Link arrived at the entrance of the Gerudo fortress, took off the zora mask and put on the stone mask. He swam to where he could use the hookshot to enter and succeeded. When he was in the large open part, he headed for the throne room, since he figured that prisoners would most likely be taken there first.

He went inside and the first thing he noticed was Romani, still in the net, dangling maybe an inch above the water in the tank. There were several black fish in there that he had never seen before, but they looked pretty dangerous. They almost looked like eels and small sharks at the same time, and they seemed attracted to what was above them. Romani was wisely staying still to avoid the possibility of getting any closer to the fish occasionally trying to nip at her.

Seeing no one else around, Link removed his mask and walked up to the talk. Romani saw him, sighed with relief and smiled, not needing to say anything to him. But before Link could actually do anything, four Gerudo guards dropped down and surrounded him.

"Still sneaking in here, huh boy? You've got guts, but no brains." One of the guards stated, then she and the other three pulled out two swords and attacked him.

Link fought back using a spincharge to push them all back. Then he pulled out four deku nuts to stun them all. Not wasting any time, he swiftly pulled out the hookshot and used it to get on top of the tank.

"So we were right. You also stole our hookshot." A different Gerudo voice could be heard saying. An arrow quickly flew across the room and severed the rope holding the net. Romani yelped as she fell into the water.

Link put on the zora mask and jumped right in. He held Romani against his chest as he created the electric barrier to fry the fish. Since Romani was within the barrier she was safe from the shock. When done, Link quickly got out of the water before she swallowed any and he took off the mask.

Romani didn't look good. She was covered in bite marks and rope burns, was bleeding a little, and was coughing up water. It looked like she might have drowned had Link been any later. Now he was mad.

As the leader of the Gerudo entered his view with more armed guards, Link picked up Romani bridal style. Glaring, the Hylian boy pulled out a few bombs and threw them towards the pirates. They nervously backed away and Link sot the hookshot at an open vent before they exploded.

After the bombs went off the tank shattered and the room flooded. Everyone in the room got soaking wet and several got hurt. The leader of the Gerudo did not look happy. "Where. Did. They. Go?"

One guard pulled a fish off her leg and yelled before answering. "Umm. I think I saw them escape thru that vent." She pointed to an open hole that was near the top left of the wall.

The leader still looked upset. "Who left that open?"

Another guard answered her. "We were trying to clear all vents of bugs today, Captain."

The leader sighed and grimaced to herself. "Have everyone who is still fit check everywhere that vent may lead to. See if you can trap those two brats. And have everyone who's hurt go to the infirmary."

"Understood, Sir." The guard replied with a salute.


	12. Safe?

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twelve: Safe?

_Link:12 Romani:12 Cremia:19_

Link, holding Romani on his back now, wandered thru some underground tunnels connected to the Gerudo vent they escaped into. By now Romani was capable of walking by herself, but chose to let Link think he needed to carry her. She found it really comfortable, despite the fact that she felt the cool metal of his shield more than his actual back. Most likely she liked the affectionate act more than the actual sensation.

They saw a light coming from a hole and chose to go thru it to the outside. They first saw that they weren't by Great Bay any longer. All they saw was dirt, grass, and trees next to a small creek. Birds could be heard chirping and the wind had a faint chill to it. The land was not flat; Link could see mountain peaks not too far away.

"Romani? Ladybug? You okay?" Link asked her, sounding worried and cautious.

"Romani's fine, Grasshopper." She reassured him.

"I'm sorry." He said above a whisper. "I only wanted to please you, and it put you in danger."

"It's okay. I'm safe, thanks to you." She said, rubbing his left cheek. Link surprised her by kissing her for once instead of just kissing back. Usually she was the one who showed affection more. "Where are we, by the way?"

Link told around look around. "I think we're somewhere in the mountains. But we're in a part I've never seen before."

"How do we get home?"

"We're going to have to walk until I can find a recognizable place. Then I can call Epona and we can ride back. It'll take a while, maybe even all night or more... but it's the only way."

"Cremia won't be happy." Romani thought out loud.

"If only you were capable of warping with me, it wouldn't take so long. But... you can't." Link added.

One time about three months after Link took up residence at Romani Ranch, they tried to see if the Song of Soaring would take Romani with him when he played it. It didn't work. It also didn't work when she tried to wear one of his shape shifting masks.

"I really need to learn that song." Romani commented.

"I'll make you an ocarina as soon as I can. Then I can show you more of Termina and we can escape quicker if we have to." Link said. All the time he had been training her, he always thought he would be able to defend her enough that she wouldn't need to escape like that. But now he was convinced otherwise. "By the way, you might want these." He reached back and pulled out her clothes and equipment.

She thanked him as she put her clothes on over her swimsuit and put her sword, shield, bow and quiver in place. She stood up and got ready to leave.

Not wanting the Gerudo to catch up with them, the two walked down an open pass which led into a large forest. At least it was late spring so there was no snow in the mountains except at Snowhead. The forest was uninviting, but Link wasn't afraid and went right in with Romani who hung on his arm.

Many keese could be seen in the trees and tried to swarm them. Both of them easily kept them away with their swords. A few blue tekites showed up too and tried to bite them, but were killed as well by the two preteens.

They had no idea just how long they had been out, but the sun soon looked like it was about to set. Seeing a cliff that was climbable, they went up it to further elude pursuers. The land plateaued for a bit and the forest thinned a bit. There was also a wide river that led to their right. They followed it, thinking it might lead somewhere Link might recognize.

When the sun was set completely, they had reached a lake that the river fed into. Tired, they stopped to rest. Romani said she was hungry, so Link pulled out his fishing rod and tried to catch something to eat. After two minutes, he got a bite, but it was too strong to be a fish. A mere fish couldn't pull the rod out of Link's hands like this thing did.

A large creature broke the surface of the water. It was as big as a house and had a head and neck that looked like a large eel or sea snake. The body was covered with a crystalline turtle shell, and the legs and tail looked like a dodongo's. It glared at Link, the rod dangling out of it's mouth.

The eel-turtle approached them and breathed fire. Link and Romani quickly used their shields to defend themselves. Romani fired an arrow at the creature's neck, but it withdrew it's head and was unharmed. Link threw a few bombs at it but they didn't hurt it.

Romani went left to get a better aim at the eel-turtle, and it turned towards her. Link slashed at it's tail to divert it's attention, and this actually hurt it. The eel-turtle bellowed, quickly turned around, and breathed fire at the boy. He easily dodged it.

'It's like a dodongo. An aquatic dodongo.' Link quickly thought. "Romani, slash the tail then get ready to dodge fire!" He shouted at the girl.

Romani obeyed and slashed the tail. The eel-turtle turned to incinerate her, but before it could, Link slashed the tail, now that it was in front of him. The eel-turtle turned to face him and Romani attacked from behind again. The two continued this approach until the creature died and exploded. Both used their shields to deflect the blast.

"That... was tough." Romani said as she got close to Link, struggling to find an appropriate word.

"Still want to learn how to be as good as me?" Link asked her.

She nodded. "Of course. Can't let you have all the fun of being a hero."

"Well, if you want that, you're in for a tough ride."

"I was ready for that when I picked up my father's bow two years ago. I can handle it." Romani added.

Link patted her shoulder. "If you insist. But if you really want to be as good as me, we'll have to visit the Great Fairys so they can help you get tough. And you'll need some actual battle experience."

Romani grinned. "Remember the dreams with the yellow eyes? I'm willing to go thru it all. But let's go home first." Her stomach growled. "Actually... let's eat first."

Having no provisions, Link hunted some game birds and gave the ranch girl tips on hunting and foraging. When they had enough, Link set up a fire and cooked the food. They silently agreed it was better to camp out then try to keep going to the ranch all night. When it was time to sleep, Link pulled out a blanket and both went to sleep under it to share body heat.

--

Cremia watched out the window, afraid to go to sleep. It had been night for over three hours and there had been no sign of the two kids she watched over. Not even Epona had showed up. She knew how responsible Link was, so something bad had to have happened. She dreaded just what it could be, considering she had heard some nasty things about the Gerudo.

With tears in her eyes, Cremia knelt and prayed. "Please, goddesses and giants, let those two be safe and out of harms way. Please let them be able to return soon, unharmed and well."

She knew she had to wake up earlier for a delivery, but she didn't fall asleep until she was physically incapable of staying awake.


	13. Fairy Visit 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirteen: Fairy Visit Part One

_Link:12 Romani:12 Cremia:19_

_I've always wondered how Link is able to carry all his stuff without it weighing him down. Most fics I've read say he has a special Kokiri bag that can hold it all. For this story I've decided that Link has access to what is commonly known as hammerspace. For those of you not familiar with this, this means that he can basically pull his things out of thin air when he needs them, and put them back into thin air when he doesn't. Link keeps his sword, shield, bow, quiver, ocarina, and hookshot out of hammerspace with him since they're the most useful of his tools._

Morning came, and Romani woke up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She saw Link was no longer next to her, or even in sight, and their campfire was out. Before she got nervous, Link came into view from behind some tress carrying some apples.

"Here." Link said as he held out two apples. "These were all I could find."

"Thanks, Grasshopper." She said as she took the fruits. "Sleep well?"

Link shrugged. "Somewhat. I can't believe how weird it feels to sleep outside again. I guess I really got used to having a room."

"Well, at least nothing happened."

Link withheld a sigh. The reason he was up early was because he heard a wolfos sniffing around the area and was about to make them it's prey. He dispatched the wolfos without disturbing Romani's rest, and simply stayed awake since the sun was starting to rise. He figured she would feel better if she didn't know all this.

Both preteens ate an apple each and put another in their pockets for later. When ready to go, they followed a river that drained out of the lake. Along the way they ran into some octoroks, blue tekites, and wolfos. Link let Romani handle them all to give her more experience, but helped her when things got tough.

After noon, they reached a cliff where the river became a waterfall. Link looked down to see the sword smith's cottage and the cliff in front of Darmani's grave. Link figured he was right above where that starving goron gave him the Don Geros mask long ago. He jumped into the water below and Romani followed. Both climbed out and dried themselves off. Link then called for Epona with his ocarina and as always the young horse showed up right away, allowing the two to ride away.

By the time Link and Romani got close to Clocktown, it had already been night for an hour. Epona was tired and couldn't go much further, so Link tied her to a horse post and the two preteens went inside the city walked thru the streets and houses in the north end and settled in the town park. Link checked to make sure there were no thieves like Sakon, but there were storm clouds brewing so he took Romani inside the fairy fountain to avoid the rain. Soon both were asleep on the stone floor, trying to get comfortable.

The next morning the storm had passed and Romani woke up before Link this time. She briefly noted that this was the longest she had ever been away from her home or sister. But with Link there with her, she was calmed. Waiting for him to wake up, she stood in front of the shallow pool surrounded by pillars. She wondered why this room and this pool were here.

As she looked at it, the water rippled and out came an orange-haired Great Fairy. "Why, hello little girl. How can I assist you?"

Romani was momentarily too surprised to respond. "Umm... ah... who... are you?"

"Why, I'm the Great Fairy of Magic." The vine-clad woman answered. She then noticed Link, who was still sleeping. "Ah. I see you know the great saver of Termina. You're a lucky girl to be friends with him."

"I know." Romani proudly replied. "I remember him saying something about you and some others being able to help me get stronger like him."

"Hmm... so the great young hero wants to help you improve your own talents?" The Great Fairy mused. "Well, I do owe him a favor, so I shall grant his request. Consider yourself fortunate; I usually ask the person in your situation to do something first."

The Great Fairy did some hand movements and Romani found herself bathed in light green light. She felt somewhat rejuvenated while it was happening. When it finished, she checked herself out but didn't look or feel any different. "What just happened?" Romani asked.

"You now have magic." The Great Fairy answered. "Just so you know little girl, you can only do so much with it. Have your friend explain it to you."

Before Romani could ask anything else, the Great Fairy disappeared back into the water. She then saw Link start to wake up out of the corner of her eye and went over to him. When he was awake, she explained what had happened, and the two left the room to get back to Epona.


	14. Fairy Visit 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Fourteen: Fairy Visit Part Two

_Link:12 Romani:12 Cremia:19_

Link and Romani went to the horse post to get Epona and leave. Link untied his horse but didn't climb on. "Say, Romani, if we didn't go right to the ranch, where would you like to go?"

Romani tried to figure out what he meant by that. "If we didn't go right to the ranch? Why wouldn't we?"

"It's likely the Gerudo are still looking for us. Some are probably still in the mountains, but some might be checking the beach and nearby field. The part of the field that leads to the ranch."

The pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place in Romani's mind. "So... if we go home right now, the Gerudo might spot us and learn where we live." Link nodded. "And if that happens, we might never be rid of them."

Link nodded again. "We should probably give it a few more days until it's likely they're not trying so hard. Or we could find another way to the ranch."

"Like the soaring song?"

Link nodded. "Or maybe we could go to the swamp and go back north thru it to the ranch. As long as we don't take the direct way we should be okay."

Romani smiled lightly. "Okay. Let's try that, since the song won't work for me. Romani just wishes we could tell Cremia so she won't worry."

Link smiled. "I think we can do something about that later. C'mon." He then got onto Epona and helped Romani get on behind him. When they were securely seated, they went off, sticking to the eastern side of Clocktown to avoid being seen by any pirates.

Along the way Link tried to explain what she could do now that she had magic. He said that now she'd have more stamina for basic activities, heal faster, and would require less food and sleep. She could also use it to make herself stronger or faster or more likely to hit targets with her arrows. This was based on his own abilities. Now, she couldn't make a magic-powered spinslash or elemental arrows yet, until she saw the Great Fairy in the swamp. Once he said this, she asked if they could go to her.

Sometime after 3:00 PM the two reached the swamp. They left Epona by the owl statue and went into the swamp tour guide shop. Link paid for a boat ride and the two drifted thru the marsh. Romani cuddled up next to Link the whole time and frequently commented about the view. Link even pulled out his pictograph box and shot a few pictures, more of them having a good time than the swamp. When they got to the Deku palace they got off the boat and climbed the vines leading up to the Woodfall Temple. Link was glad none of the Deku Scrubs were watching. He didn't know what they would think of two humans trying to get to their sacred place.

Link and Romani made it to the part of the mountain peak that had the temple. They couldn't use the walkways to get where they wanted since they were designed for Deku Scrubs, so they waded thru the murky water, shooting arrows at the attacking dragonflies. They got to the alcove that led to the fairy fountain. Link gave Romani a boost up and then she pulled him up.

They went up near the pool and out came a pink-haired Great Fairy. "Hello, strong young ones." She then recognized Link. "Oh, hello again. What may I do for you?"

"I'd like you to help her." Link said, making a motion towards Romani.

The Great Fairy looked over the armed ranch girl, well aware of exactly what Link wanted her to do. "Very well, but first I must test her in private. Please wait outside."

Link went out and Romani tried to stand regally to look impressive. "What must Romani do?"

"Answer a question truthfully."

"Huh?" Romani asked. She had expected something like having to face a swamp beast of some sort, not this. "O...kay."

"Why do you want a warrior's abilities like him when you can live a more peaceful life?"

Romani had been asked that before so she barely had to think about her answer. "At first, Romani simply wanted to defend her home. Then I heard Link's stories and I... actually felt sorry for him. Two countries have depended on him and him alone to solve all their problems since he was 10. He had no time to do anything else, even be with friends. It seemed so unfair to me. I... I wanted to help him, on and off the battlefield. That's what friends do."

""So you want to help him by his side? Do you think you and he will be together long enough for there to be a point to me helping you?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Romani countered.

The fairy crossed her arms. "In time that young man will be able to return to his home country. Do you think he'll pass that up just to stay with you here?"

"Maybe I'll go there with him." Romani replied, crossing her own arms.

"You'd seriously give up your home to be with him?"

Romani 'hmmphed'. "I don't know what'll happen when that time comes. Maybe we'll be together, maybe we won't. But if I'm going to help my best friend like I want, I need the abilities you can give me."

The two were quiet for a bit, then the Great Fairy smirked. "Y'know, I like your spirit, girl. You remind me of that boy who saved me two years ago. So I shall give you what you desire." Romani was bathed in a light green light and hovered. "Now you can channel your magic into your weapons. Have your boyfriend explain it more to you."

The Great Fairy disappeared back into the water and Romani went out back to Link. The sun was setting now, so once again they needed to find a place to sleep.


	15. Cremia's Sorrow

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Fifteen: Cremia's Sorrow

_Link:12 Romani:12 Cremia:19_

"I haven't seen or heard anything from them in days, Anju. I don't know what to do."

Cremia was at the Stock Pot Inn in Clocktown, paying a visit to her friend Anju. She left the ranch to see if she could find the two kids in her custody and maybe inform the town soldiers so they could look too. But first, to calm herself, she had to see a friendly face.

She was up in Anju's room where the innkeeper was on break and tending to her 1 year-old son. Anju listened to Cremia's story, of how Link and Romani went off to Great Bay days ago and hadn't returned yet. Usually when something like that happened, it was assumed that the Gerudo were involved. But Link had encountered them before and gotten away safely, so it was unlikely the two preteens were in trouble. So what happened to them?

Anju finished changing her son's diaper and cuddled him while she took a seat beside Cremia. "I don't know what to tell you, Cremia. Kafei and I can inform the guards so they can look for them, and I can keep an eye out if they show up here. But other then that, there's little I can do to help. Sorry."

Cremia sighed and nodded. That was all she could expect of her friend. "Thanks Anju. I just... wish I wasn't so helpless in all this. Maybe I shouldn't have let them go, or maybe I should have gone with them to watch over them."

"What happened happened." Anju said patting Cremia's shoulder. "But from what I remember of that boy, he's fully capable of taking care of himself and whoever's around him. I'm positive that he and your little sister are already trying to get back to the ranch. For all you know they could be there right now."

Cremia looked calmed, but not like she believed the innkeeper. "Maybe."

The door opened and Kafei came in. "Hi dear. Oh, hi Cremia. Something wrong?" Anju then told her husband the whole story. "Wow. I should probably talk to the head of the guards so he could send out a search party." He turned away, about to leave.

Anju got up, grabbed his sleeve, and handed him their son. "Actually, could you watch him for a bit? I think Cremia needs to have a little time to get this off her mind."

Kafei nodded. "Okay. You do what you can for her." He then kissed her, and Anju and Cremia went out into Clocktown.

--

Night came and Cremia stumbled home, as depressed as ever. Anju bought her lunch and took her shopping to try and distract the ranch keeper from everything bothering her. But it wasn't working. Cremia even stopped by a tavern, not a milk bar, for a drink since the legal age in Termina was 18, but that didn't help either. Normally Cremia wouldn't drink because she wanted to set a good example, but today she felt she needed it.

It was easy to see why Cremia was so upset. Romani and Link were the only family she had left. Her mother had gotten ill and died when she was 9 and Romani was 2, and her father was killed by a falling construction beam at the ranch when she was 14 and Romani was 7. Since then, Cremia was in charge of everything at the ranch and her parent's will said everything legally belonged to her. Her dog-loving aunt had moved in to help whenever a legal adult was needed, but ultimately the ranch was Cremia's and no one elses. Especially now that she was the oldest one there.

Cremia wiped the tears from her eyes and went inside the ranch. She had skipped dinner but wasn't hungry anyway. About to go upstairs, she noticed that the door to Link's room was open and she knew she hadn't left it that way. Curious, she peaked inside. There she saw Link lying asleep on his back with Romani trying to cuddle up next to him like she sometimes did.

Cremia broke out into a relieved watery smile. At the moment, she didn't care where they had been, why they took so long to get back, or even that her little sister was sleeping next to a boy again. All that mattered was that they were there. Cremia then pulled their blanket over them more and got into the bed behind Romani to hold her. It was crowded, but soon Cremia was able to go to sleep peacefully for the first time in days.


	16. Becoming A Teenager

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Sixteen: Becoming A Teenager

_Link:12-13 Romani:12-13 Cremia:19-20_

_Sorry about the delay in updates. I don't have as much access to a computer as I used to._

The next day, the day after Link and Romani returned to Romani Ranch, the two preteens explained to Cremia exactly why they were gone for so long. The older ranch girl was shocked by their story and glad they got back home safely, all while fearful of what might have happened to the two of them. That day, she set up a new rule, that the two of them were not to leave the ranch without her until they were at least 14. Link was the only one to put up an argument about it, claiming he might have to leave to help people. But Cremia remarked that Termina had been overly peaceful since he stopped the moon from falling years ago, so he wasn't as needed as he might have thought. Link ended up relenting.

However, a few nights during the year, Link and Romani would sneak out off the ranch. A month after their return, Link had managed to carve an ocarina for Romani and taught her how to play it. When she got the hang of it, he taught her the Song of Soaring and a few others too. Romani gained the ability to warp with Link to anywhere in Termina there was an owl statue. It was fortunate that she didn't have to strike the the statue herself for it to work, as Link had briefly worried. With this, the two explored the country without Cremia knowing, seeing the sights and the other Great Fairies.

At Snowhead, they went to the fairy fountain to find it frozen solid in a particularly bad cold snap. Romani used a fire arrow, which she had learned from Link to use, to thaw the pool. Link had previously given her a fire, ice, and light arrow and had her put them into her quiver. Once there, the magic of the arrows embedded itself into the quiver, meaning that from now on any arrow she placed there could be charged with magic into an elemental arrow. Once the pool water melted, the Great Fairy of Wisdom emerged and, impressed with the ranch girl, granted her more magical energy.

At Great Bay, Link and Romani were ambushed by some zoras while on the way to the Great Fairy. They assumed that Romani was a young Gerudo since she had red hair, was a girl, was armed, and was out at night at sea. To them only a Gerudo would fit that description. The two preteens fought back to defend themselves, but most of the fighting was done by Romani since she was the targeted one. Link was impressed by how good she was and that she didn't kill any of the zora, just gave them enough wounds to get away and live to regret it. The Great Fairy of Courage had seen this and was impressed by her skills as well, and enhanced her endurance like Link requested.

At Ikana Canyon, Link and Romani were interrupted by a young girl named Pamela who said her father was missing. They searched for him and eventually found the man at the Ikana cemetery, surrounded by poes and stalchildren. Link and Romani fought them all away and led him back to his house, where his daughter was glad to see him. The Great Fairy of Kindness had seen this and was touched by it, so she gave Romani her own Great Fairy sword. This was the longest night for the two of them, and they barely managed to get home before Cremia found out.

Aside from their occasional nighttime adventures, Link and Romani were basically two normal preteens working and living on a ranch. They did their chores and had fun in their own ways, but always together. They sparred together, swam together in a small pool Link had dug out with his goron form, and rode Epona once in a while. The two were definitely best friends, and Link almost felt like he was back with Saria again in the Kokiri forest. But it was different than the time he had with Saria. Link had more fun here than he ever had before, and he credited it mostly to Romani's presence and friendship. Little did he know that Romani felt the same about her time with him.

The two soon turned thirteen years old, and they began the awkward experience of puberty. Cremia had to ignore her own discomfort and explain to the two of them just what was going on and what to expect. It was easier for her to explain things to her sister, for obvious reasons. Link commented that now he was glad he once skipped over the whole process and at least once said he wished he could do it again. Romani said pretty much the same thing herself once too.

In the meantime, a dark spirit continued to watch over the two of them. At first it was only interested in one of them, but the other one soon caught it's interest too as time went on. Now it was really desperate to be able to return to the mortal world to cause them trouble. So it chose to stop giving them nightmares and conserve it's power, until it could access the world without the use of it's former medium, a cursed mask. It would still take some time for that, but when it could, those two little heroes would be in for quite a challenge.


	17. Starry Night

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Seventeen: Starry Night

_Link:13 Romani:13 Cremia:20_

Romani snuck out of her room steathfully and went downstairs. She was grateful that Cremia was such a sound sleeper and not too long ago she had been given her own room after sharing her sister's for so long. Now it was easier for her to do what she most liked to do at night.

Romani went outside and around to the back of the house. There was a ladder there as always which let her get up to the roof. She got up and saw Link there waiting for her, laying back and stargazing. He turned to see her and smiled friendly. "Glad you could make it."

"Did you doubt Romani?"

"No, but your sister has stopped you several times before."

Romani shrugged and got comfortable beside him. "Yeah, but now she can't lock me in the room anymore. I know she means well, but we don't do anything wrong."

Link turned his gaze back skyward. "She's just trying to be a good sister."

Romani didn't respond. Instead she looked at the sky too. They would do this sometimes, just talk and look at the stars all night if they couldn't sleep. Link was well used to staying up all night, and thanks to his influence in her life, Romani had gotten some restless nights too over the years. When that happened, they often got together to keep each other company if they could. Even if they barely did anything, both enjoyed just being close together.

Neither really knew what to say to the other at the moment. But at the same time, the silence wasn't awkward. There was a sense of calm between the two teens that seemed to embody their entire friendship. It was the kind of feeling one got when in their element. There was simply no better way to describe it other than 'tranquil'.

Link thought about how much Romani had impacted his life. When he realized he was going to be stuck in Termina for years, he was pretty depressed about it. Then she offered to give him a home and friendship. She believed him when most would call him a lunatic. She trusted him not to hurt her, even when he started using real swords in their spars. And she was fun to be with, even if they didn't play.

Romani was a special girl to Link. Like Saria, she wanted to be his friend and never made him feel odd. Like Malon, she was helpful and energetic. Like Zelda, she was diligent and down to earth. Like Ruto, she was feisty and independent. But at the same time, she wasn't like them at all. Unlike Saria, she wasn't confined to one place. Unlike Malon, she was more interested in his company than the ranch animals. Unlike Zelda, she didn't put work and duty above all else. And unlike Ruto, she wasn't a little egotistical. She was her own person. She was his best friend, his student, his partner-in-arms. And, Link could admit to himself now after three-and-a-half years, she was the girl he loved.

Meanwhile, Romani thought about how much Link had impacted her life. Even though she could only remember the last three day time loop Link was in before the moon almost fell, she knew she liked him in all the erased ones. She didn't want to ever tell him this, but Romani was very glad that Link couldn't return to his home country when his duty was over. If he had, they might never have seen each other again and Link would have probably gotten closer to one of the many girls in Hyrule who seemed to admire him. The idea of Link being with another girl really hurt her.

Link was a special boy to Romani. Most boys she had seen before made fun of her as soon as they heard her refer to herself in the third person, a habit she was slowly outgrowing. He never brought it up, as if it didn't matter at all. Most people on the ranch, back when there were more living there, had their own thing to do, so she was often bored and restless. He gladly kept her company. He even listened to her when she talked about the ghosts, something everyone else just shrugged off. He was the nicest, bravest person she knew. He was her best friend, her teacher, her protector. And, Romani could admit to herself now, he was the boy she loved.

Both knew it, but both were still too shy to say anything about it yet.

A shooting star shot across the sky for a few seconds. Both teens looked at each other for a moment. Then, without needing to say anything, both looked up, closed their eyes, and made a wish. Neither knew it, but both of them made the same wish.


	18. Return of the Ghosts

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Eighteen: Return of the Ghosts

_Link:14 Romani:14 Cremia:21_

"It is time." A dark force said to itself in it's own realm. It's yellow eyes gleamed with sinister delight as it prepared itself for what it had planned.

"Do you need me yet, Boss?" A shapeless spirit asked, standing behind the darker one.

"No, not quite yet. You'll get to do your part soon enough. But right now, I've got something I'd like done." The dark spirit stopped to chuckle. "Those two who pose a threat to me have probably gotten a little relaxed since I stopped invading their dreams. So I'm going to send them a little warning to get their attention. After all, this won't be any fun if no one tried to oppose me."

"Two? But only one fought last time."

"Yes, but now there is another involved. I'm not entirely sure how or why, but it seems appropriate. After all, there are two of us."

"How will you get their attention?" The shapeless spirit asked.

The dark entity paused for dramatic effect. "With a little blast from the past."

--

Romani was walking down the hall to her room after using the restroom late at night when a bright light from outside caught her eye. Taking a closer look, she saw it was in the sky over the ranch grounds. Even though she hadn't seen it in years and didn't want to believe it, she knew exactly what it was.

"Oh no. Please, not that. It can't be."

She rushed downstairs and banged on Link's door. "Grasshopper! Wake up! They're back! The ghosts are back!"

In a flash, Link was up and armed and out of his room. "Go get your stuff." He told her. She nodded and dashed back upstairs into her own room before joining Link outside. He was already at work shooting arrows at the ghosts. However, this time their numbers were easily more than doubled. Epona got frightened and ran off, completely ignored by the cattle-stealing spectres. Link and Romani tried to shoot them all, but it didn't seem like enough.

"Dammit. There's too many of them." Link shouted. Romani cursed a bit too, wondering why this was happening.

It took the ghosts about ten minutes to get past the teen's defenses and reach the barn. The entire building got covered in white light and seemed to crumble. The ghosts each grabbed a cow and pulled them up. Romani fired a few more arrows, but the light beacon acted like a shield.

To make things much worse, the rest of the ghosts swarmed the house and created a second beacon around it. The house fell apart piece by piece and a woman's scream could be heard.

"CREMIA!" Both Link and Romani screamed.

Soon, the lights, ghosts, cows, and buildings were gone. Link and Romani dug thru the rubble to find the older rancher, but she was gone too. Completely gone.

Elsewhere, a sinister apparition laughed.


	19. Darkest Before the Dawn

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Nineteen: Darkest Before The Dawn?

_Link:14 Romani:14 Cremia:21_

Romani woke up and saw Link right next to her. This was nothing new; it had happened before many times. "Morning, Grasshopper. Glad to see you. I had a horrible dream last night." She said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Umm... Ladybug, it... wasn't a dream." He sadly told her.

She gasped and saw what was left of Romani Ranch. The field, cucco hut, vegetable garden and pool were untouched, but the barn and house were just piles of broken wood now. Epona had returned thanks to her song, but that was a small comfort. Romani buried her face in Link's chest and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her to try and pacify her. "What are we going to do, Link? Our house... Cremia... it's all gone! What are we going to do?"

"The house can be rebuilt and Cremia... will come back." Link told her with a sigh. "But... she won't be the same person anymore."

Romani tried to take it all in and wasn't handling it well. A thousand questions came to her and she didn't know where to start. "What... should we do?"

Link wiped a tear off her face. "First thing we should do is build some kind of shelter for now, and salvage what we can."

"When will... Cremia come back?"

Link took a deep breath. "I want to say tomorrow, but I can't guarantee it. This invasion was very different from all the other ones I prevented, so I can't be certain anymore."

With nothing else to say just then, the two teenagers just sat there with each other for a bit longer. Eventually they salvaged for things in the wreckage. They found some tools, food, usable clothes, and one good mattress. Other than that, most everything else was just trash now. Fortunately they kept their most useful things in hammerspace, which Romani had learned to access from Link.

After a small meal, Link and Romani spent the rest of the day building a crude lean-to against the cucco hut. Link wasn't sure how to build an actual house for them again, unless he hired the Clocktown carpenters to do the job. It would definitely be expensive, and wondered if he could afford it. Later at night when the lean-to was done, they put the mattress inside and went to sleep side by side.

--

"They sure seem devastated." The shapeless spirit commented to the much more powerful one.

"Thanks. That was the idea." The dark entity replied.

"So will you start your plan for the land now?"

"Not quite. I'll start when morning comes in the mortal realm. That way I can send them another nightmare like I used to." The evil spirit paused to softly laugh. "I wonder what they'll look like when their nightmare comes true."

--

A few hours before dawn, Link and Romani jolted awake at the same time. They hyperventilated a little bit and turned to look at each other. They both knew what had just happened. Even though it hadn't happened in quite some time, both had shared the same dream.

"You saw that thing, didn't you?" Link asked to confirm the idea.

"Romani saw... some giant thing with many arms hiding in a huge black cloud." She answered. "There were... monsters all over the country and people screaming."

Link nodded slowly. "That's what I saw too. Damn. First Cremia disappears and now this." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, looking frustrated. "I guess I never really will get a break from chaos."

Romani patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Romani's here for you. You taught Romani well and I'll help you face whatever threat you have, even if I get hurt in the process."

Link lightly grinned. "You better not get hurt, because then that means I'm not doing my job."

Romani grinned back and yawned a little. "Then you better do your job."

Both felt tired and laid back down on their shared bed. Both were unaware that in a few hours the spirit that had been plotting against them would make it's move.


	20. The Dawn of Darkness

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty: The Dawn of Darkness

_Link:14 Romani:14_

Morning came to Termina, but this was unlike any morning before. The sun was only seen for about two hours, because it got incredibly cloudy incredibly quickly. The cloud started right above the clock tower in Clocktown, right where the moon could be seen over four years ago. The cloud formed just like a hurricane and grew and grew until it dominated the sky. The sunlight couldn't break thru the cloud and before noon the only places that could see direct sunlight were the outermost parts of the swamp, mountains, bay and canyon.

Virtually everyone stopped for at least a moment to look at the cloud that was covering the sky. The entire time it grew it continued to spin like a slow cyclone. But there was no eye. The cloud was solid and thick. There was still light over the land under the cloud, but it was dim. It was like being in an unlit house during the evening. People could still see where they were going, but needed to put more effort into reading or noticing some things as they walked around.

At precisely noon, thunder could be heard but there had been no lightning or a drop of rain. Everyone outside in Clocktown looked up at the sound, and saw something they never would have expected. Countless tentacles started to descend from the cloud and approach the ground. Many fled into the nearest building, but those brave or foolish enough to stay outside did.

The tentacles stopped about two meters above the ground and hovered. Then, a third of them were revealed to end in an eye, one that was black instead of white and had a yellow cat-like pupil. The eyes just seemed to stare everywhere and focused mostly on the people they could find, even the ones indoors. Another third were revealed to end in talons like a bird of prey's foot. But each had only one talon, an ebony one that gleamed like it was polished. And the remaining third were revealed to end in a mouth, one that had three lips instead of two and opened to reveal ivory fangs that rotated swiftly inside instead of being rooted in the gums. It looked and sounded just like a buzzsaw.

The Clocktown mailman was one of those outside when this happened. He tried to keep running but several of the eyes followed him and it unnerved him. One of the mouths got in front of him and that made him stop. The mouth was closed at first, but then it looked like a snake ready to strike. Then it opened it's lips to show off it's rotating teeth, made a shrill sound, and lunged at him. The mailman was devoured completely before he could even breathe.

With the first victim claimed, the rest of the tentacles went to work. Eyes found anyone trying to run or hide, talons caught those not quick enough to get away, and mouths devoured all in their paths. Buildings were crumbled and many were hurt in the process. Guards tried to fight back but none were any match for those horrible mouths. In no time the thousands of citizens of Clocktown who did manage to get away kept running for their lives, hoping there was somewhere to escape to.

Anju, Kafei, and their son were among those that got away unharmed. Sadly, the rest of their family didn't. They escaped thru Clocktown's eastern gate and noticed that the cloud stretched as far as they could see. Behind them they heard the oddest sound one could hear at a time like this: laughter. Somebody was enjoying the carnage. Hiding behind one of the pillars that led to the canyon, Anju and Kafei looked to see who could possibly enjoy this.

What they saw was a person sitting on an upturned tentacle creating a swing-like seat. The person resting on it was blacker than tar, like they were the embodiment of darkness. The only things not black were the bright yellow eyes and the whiter-than-ivory hair. The hair and body shape showed this person was female. They wore no clothing, but nothing indecent could be seen. It was like they were some kind of living warped shadow. And they were laughing at the sight of Clocktown's suffering.

Anju and Kafei kept running, refusing to pause any longer. They could think of only one place to go now, a place Anju's family knew they could escape to in desperate times.

--

Elsewhere in Termina, places were suffering much like Clocktown. For most it was a case of deja vu. The water by the Woodfall temple started to turn purple and smell like poison, and it soon spilled out into the rest of the swamp. The winds around the Snowhead temple got stronger and carried frigid temperatures to the rest of the mountains, where it was already cold enough due to the fact it was winter. The water in Great Bay got warmer and murkier, upsetting the Zoras who were swimming. And all the dead bodies buried in Ikana rose from their graves again. This time the Stalchildren got up and about in broad daylight, scaring the gravedigger.

The Skull Kid, Tatl, and Tael were out in the field watching the dark cloud cover the country. From out of nowhere there appeared a herd of red and black buffalo-like monsters. They looked a lot like bison but had more horns, were striped red and black like a blood-stained tiger, had two dragon tails each, and a full set of fangs. Some saw the imp and charged right at him. He ran and climbed up a tree to escape, but they headbutted it until he lost his grip and fell down. The Skull Kid was then immediately trampled to death by the monstrous bovine before being eaten.

Tatl and Tael, who flew where the beasts couldn't get to them, watched this with disgust. "Let's go Tael. There's only one thing we can do now." With that the two fairies flew away.


	21. Terror in Termina

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

_Over 3,000 hits already! I'm glad so many people like this story, even if so few review it._

Chapter Twenty-One: Terror in Termina

_Link:14 Romani:14_

Link and Romani's plans for the day vanished from their minds as they watched the large musky white cloud dominate the sky. Initially it looked like the clouds around Snowhead, only much larger, but the tingling in their spines said this was no ordinary stormcloud. The sound of thunder without rain or lightning only encouraged this. Fearing this was just going to be a very bad storm that was just momentarily brewing, the two teens scrambled to see if they could make their little lean-to able to withstand it.

After a while, neither felt it was going to do them any good. Construction wasn't one of their talents and the materials they had to work with weren't in the best condition anymore. So the two stopped for a moment and felt their little shelter might not be the best place to be to wait out a storm.

Link pulled out the ocarina of time. "Maybe we should go someplace else until the weather clears."

"What about if Cremia comes back today?" Romani countered.

Link thought for a moment, then put away his ocarina. "Okay, let's wait a while. But if it gets too bad, we both really should leave." Romani didn't argue.

After a brief check and content the structure at least wouldn't leak if it rained, the two went inside to wait out the weather. Even Epona came inside since she was really disturbed. It was tough since the horse was almost full-grown now, but they managed. Link and Romani played a few games with a deck of cards they found to pass the time and took turns to keep Epona from getting over-aggitated and wrecking the place.

Sometime in the afternoon they heard someone pounding at the door. Link opened it and in flew Tatl and Tael in a hurry. Almost as if panicked. "Link! Thank the goddesses you're here! It's a disastor!" Tatl said as soon as she ran into her old partner.

"What's going on?" Link asked. Romani scooted closer to hear this while Tael hovered close by his sister.

"First some cow monsters came from out of nowhere and they killed the Skull Kid. They just... trampled him to death then ate him. And I could see some black things come out of the sky over Clocktown as a lot of people fled the city. There was a lot of screaming and I think I heard a building collapse. But with the wall and us being away I can't guarantee that."

Link and Romani looked at each other in shock for a moment. "I better go check this out." Link stated.

Tatl hit him in the face, much like when they first met. "Don't you dare, you idiot! Everyone in Clocktown is evacuating the place and I think whatever is terrorizing it is killing people there. You really want to go right into a death zone?"

Link stayed firm. "If I don't, then when that thing is done there it'll go somewhere else in Termina. You should know that. I've got to stop it now."

"_We've_ got to stop it now." Romani stated. Before anyone could say anything, she stood up and looked right at Link. "Don't you tell me to stay out of this one Grasshopper. Romani thinks the thing from our dreams is doing this and since I had those dreams too this is Romani's fight as well. Romani didn't train with you for four years just for exercise. And didn't you say I need more experience? I'm going with you, end of story."

Link didn't bother objecting. One thing he had learned living with two girls for four years was that you couldn't win an agrument against one. Even the Hero of Time couldn't win that kind of battle. "Fine, if you insist."

"I'm going too." Tatl added. "Somebody has to make sure you don't kill yourself, and it might as well be me considering all we've been thru together."

"W-what about me?" Tael nervously asked.

"You think I'm leaving you behind? You're going too." Tatl answered. "C'mon. You were willing to go into the moon to fight the mask. Don't tell me you're scared now."

Link stood up and smoothed his tunic. "If everything's settled now, let's go to Clocktown." Romani got ready too and the fairies hovered close to them both. Link and Romani both played the Song of Soaring on their ocarinas and warped to Clocktown.

Once there it was a sight unlike any they saw before. Many of the buildings had pieces of them broken off and crumbled, and at least two were collapsed on the ground. There was blood on the ground, but no corpses. Small fires were burning in random places, probably caused by overturned lanterns or candles. Link thought it was like the time Kakariko Village was after he finished the Water Temple but a little worse since no one died then.

A bunch of barks could be heard and Link turned to the right to see that small dog that always hated him as a Deku Scrub surrounded by several black tentacles. Two had yellow eyes that watched the dog while one had a fiendish mouth that hissed back at the animal. It tried to scare off the mouth, but instead the mouth sprang at it and consumed it. Some blood fell on the pavement but nothing else, not even a hair.

Romani saw this and was sickened. She turned away and came face to face with an eye tentacle, staring right at her with interest. She screamed at the surprise and sliced it with her sword. The severed end plopped on the ground and withered away into nothing while the rest of the tentacle withdrew into the cloud. More eyes were drawn to her and she sliced all that approached. Link joined in but wondered why only the eyes were doing anything. The mouths hung close by but didn't approach at all.

Suddenly the eyes pulled away, and dozens of tentacles with talons descended from above the two teens. Moving swiftly, the talons grabbed them, but they made sure not to actually hurt them. The tentacles wrapped around the arms and legs of Link and Romani while the talons stayed in place to ensure they couldn't safely struggle free. Then the tentacles tightened their grip and lifted them into the air towards the top of the clock tower. Tatl and Tael followed, ignored by the tentacles, and they were looking for any way to free the two teens.

At the top Link and Romani could see a black woman with yellow eyes and white hair sitting as if waiting for something. Several eyes surrounded her, all focused on the two of them, and a few talons and mouths did too. Seeing the captives, the woman stood up, smirked, and motioned for the tentacles to bring them closer, which they did. Link struggled to swing his sword at her but his arm couldn't probably move.

When they got close enough, the dark woman spoke in a soothing voice. "Hi, I'm Obsidia. I was told you'd show up. Now I can have some fun." She then raised her left hand and suddenly struck both of them playfully in the shoulder. "Tag, you're it." Instantly she disappeared like in a warp and it trailed south towards the swamp.

The tentacles lowered Link and Romani down to the ground without hurting them before all of them withdrew back into the sky. Link and Romani looked right at each other before saying the same thing in unison.

"What the hell was that?"


	22. Let the Game Begin

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty-Two: Let the Game Begin

_Link:14 Romani:14_

Not knowing what else to do, Link, Romani, Tatl and Tael stood plainly in the plaza around the clocktower. They didn't really feel comfortable now that Clocktown was virtually a ghost town and that thing in the clouds could still strike them at any moment.

"So... what now?" Tael asked uncertainly.

"I think that... Obsidia woman wants us to follow her." Romani commented.

"Is that really the best...?" Link started before he started to scream in pain. Romani almost instantly joined him and both grasped their right shoulders where Obsidia had tagged them. Just as quickly as it had come, the pain faded and both relaxed. Link felt something wasn't right and removed his tunic to see his shoulder better. Right there for all to see was a black circle surrounded by four black comma-shape marks. "What's this?"

Romani moved the sleeve, top of her blouse, and bra strap just enough to find she had an identical mark on her own shoulder. "Did she do this to us? Why would she do that?"

"_To make sure you play my game._" Obsidia's voice could be heard in both of their heads.

Both Link and Romani immediately got on the defensive, swords and shields out and looking for a threat. "What's got you so worked up suddenly?" Tatl asked.

"You didn't hear that?" Link asked.

"Hear what?" Both fairies asked back.

_"I had a feeling you wouldn't want to play, so I gave you_ _two a reason."_ Obsidia's voice continued in Link and Romani's minds, unheard by the fairies. _"That mark is a curse mark. Play along if you want to be freed."_

"Curse mark?" Romani asked.

_"Yes. If you refuse to play my little game, the mark will corrupt you and you will both go insane. And also, if you fail to remove it before the upcoming Carnival of Time in three months, you will become servants of my masters. You can't fight it."_

"You're a twisted bitch, you know that?" Link stated dryly. Now the faires wanted an explanation even more.

_"But you can remove it." _Obsidia's voice now sounded really interested in all this. _"There are four powerful monsters scattered around the four compass points of Termina. Defeat one and the curse mark will weaken. Defeat all and it will be gone completely. Then you will face me. Oh, and one more thing, just in case you're not motivated enough already. I have someone important to both of you as my prisoner. She's alive and well, and if you want to see her again, you WILL play my game."_

"Someone important to both of us?" Link wondered out loud, then both he and Romani gasped.

"Cremia!" Both teens exclaimed in unison.

_"You've got three months to free yourself, free my prisoner, and free the people of this land from the carnage of my masters. Game on." _Obsidia finished in a challenging tone.

"Looks like we don't have a choice." Romani commented.

"What was that all about?" Tatl demanded to know. Link told her the whole situation he and Romani were now in. Afterwards, Tatl sighed. "Count me in. You're going to need my help like last time."

"Me too." Tael added. "Whoever's behind this made the Skull Kid die and wants others to too. They need to pay."

"Let's go back to the ranch first to get ready. We need some food and water to bring along and a first-aid kit." Link stated. With no objections, both he and Romani played their ocarinas and went back to Milk Road accompanied by two fairies. Once there they saw Anju and Kafei heading towards the ranch ahead of them. Link called out to them and got their attention.

"Good to see you two." Anju greeted them. "We had to leave Clocktown suddenly and thought it was good to come here."

"Sadly here isn't much better than Clocktown now." Romani replied. "The house was completely destroyed and Cremia's gone missing."

Anju paled at hearing about her friend. "W-what happened?"

"Some ghosts came, took the cows, destroyed the place, and took Cremia too. Only we weren't affected." Romani answered.

"Since Obsidia has Cremia, do you think that means she or whoever the hell she works for sent the ghosts?" Link whispered to her.

"Maybe." She whispered back.

"Can we still stay here for a little bit? We can't exactly go back home." Kafei asked while Anju started comforting their tired son.

Link nodded. "Sure. We saw Clocktown and what attacked it. No one's going there for a while. But we won't be around here much for a while. We've got... something to do."

"What's that?" Anju asked.

"What I do best. Kill monsters and save people." Link confidently told them.

"And Romani's going too." Romani added.

Kafei didn't know what to say. Neither did Anju.


	23. Woodfall Swamp 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty-Three: Woodfall Swamp Part One

_Link:14 Romani:14_

Link and Romani entered the southern swamp of Woodfall riding Epona cautiously. Tatl hovered close to Link, scouting the area while Tael took to hanging around Romani for the time. He probably figured that since his sister was Link's fairy partner he would naturally be the partner of the ranch girl.

The group had recently escaped the monster cows that were suddenly roaming the southern part of Termina field. There was about twenty in the herd, and the whole thing charged right at them. It was a good thing Epona was faster and Romani was able to fire arrows at them to slow them down. Once they entered the marsh the herd stopped following them. Maybe they didn't like the area or maybe they were just territorial. Tatl was meanwhile trying to figure out what to call them.

"I know, how about 'Scowlets'?" Tatl suggested enthusiastically. "They're scarlet-colored cows, so it sounds perfect."

"It doesn't really matter Tatl." Link replied semi-irritably.

"Well, no need to be so testy hero boy." The opinionated fairy stated.

"Sorry, but me and my best friend just got cursed and the fate of Termina is on our shoulders and I'm practically having to relive everything I did over four years ago. What a bunch of cow monsters are called isn't exactly something I'm concerned about." Link forcibly told the fairy.

"How did you guys ever work as partners?" Romani wondered out loud.

"You should have seen us when we first met." Link turned to tell her. "Back then she hit me and said I had to help her get back to her brother since I separated them by distracting her."

"But we smoothed things over after the first few three-day cycles and managed to get along better." Tatl added. "But that doesn't mean I stopped hitting him when he did stupid stuff."

"What stupid stuff?" Link asked defensively.

"Oh, where to start?" Tatl replied. "There's sneaking into the Deku gardens, jumping off cliffs, playing that song the monkey taught you right where all Deku would hear it and catch you, using the All Night mask so you could stop those ghosts when you really needed to sleep, taking that..."

"Wait!" Romani suddenly said. "You once used that insomnia mask to defend the ranch?"

Link nodded. "If I hadn't that time, they would have won. And that was the only way I could stay awake that night."

"But you needed sleep, and the cycle was erased anyways. It wouldn't have hurt her if you had let it happen that once." Tatl objected.

"I said I would never let what they did happen to her again if I could." Link countered. "You know that."

"Okay, okay." Tatl conceded, then flew closer to Romani. "You're a lucky girl to have such a caring boyfriend."

Romani blushed and hugged Link from behind. 'If only we _were _boyfriend and girlfriend.' Since neither knew about the others feelings, they weren't really a couple in the traditional sense. But she really wanted them to be that way soon.

When they entered the part of the swamp where the tour guide hut was, it wasn't exactly something they didn't expect to see. The hut's roof was broken and some tentacles hung over it, scouting the area. A few eyed tentacles noticed the two teens on their horse and kept watch over them. Two mouthed tentacles looked like they really wanted to devour something but couldn't find anything. It was like they were unable or unallowed to actually do anything to them. Epona really got nervous and looked ready to bolt at a moment's notice, with or without her rider's permission.

Link stepped off his horse and Romani followed. One of the mouths got closer, anxious for a bite. Link patted Epona and got her to run off out of the swamp. The mouth moved towards the colt, but Link sliced it off. Link figured that whatever this thing was, it wouldn't attack him or Romani but had no reservations about anyone or anything else. But they couldn't take the horse with them everywhere, so they had to hope she made it somewhere safe soon, most likely the ranch.

"Any idea what we should do?" Romani asked. The eyes constantly watching them like they were rats in an experiment disturbed her but she didn't show it.

"I'd bet every rupee I have that our target is at the temple, but I'd like to see what the damage is to the Deku first. I'll bet that thing didn't just attack Clocktown this morning." Link told her.

"You mean it struck Clocktown, _then _here, or both at the same thing?" Romani asked to clarify.

"Hopefully the first, but I won't be surprised if it's the second."

"If it's the second, then that thing must be huge."

Link stepped towards the water and noticed there was some purple mixed amongst the blue. "Damn. The water's poisoned so we'll have to take the long way to the Deku tribe." He saw that the boat was still in good shape so he and Romani got on it and set sail down the current. About an hour later they reached where they could get to the potion shop and docked for a moment. The shop was in no better condition than the tour guide hut and deku baba sprouts were growing everywhere. Behind the place Link saw a monkey try to run from a pursuing mouth but got eaten instead. Link went inside the shop, not surprised to find it deserted, and grabbed some red and green potions for both of them. It was fortunate Romani already had a few empty bottles of her own.

Afterwards, they got back on the boat and continued drifting down the current. Romani relaxed a little and rested against Link, enjoying the quiet and the peaceful boat ride. Or at least it was peaceful until a few octoroks showed up and spat at them. Two shields went up and several octoroks went down. A few more eyes kept watching them, even after Link and Romani fired arrows to get rid of several. This thing in the clouds had a really unsettling interest in them.

When the sun was going down, they finally reached the Deku palace. Out of everything in the swamp it appeared to be the least damaged. But the sounds of hissing could be heard everywhere. Link and Romani then saw hundreds of small snakes swarming the outside of the palace walls, as if trying to get in. There even appeared to be hundreds of snakes in the water surrounding the building. Link was no animal expert but he could tell these were dangerous snakes. And even if they weren't by chance, if you didn't recognize it's kind, you should assume it's dangerous.

"Damn. With all these snakes around I don't know how we can get there." Link commented.

"It looks like the place is deserted." Romani noted. A few brown snakes came out of the water and slithered towards them. Link and Romani soon decapitated them and backed away. They went back towards the boat but didn't get back on. "Should we try for the temple?"

"Yeah, but with poisoned water how do we both...?" Link started before an idea came to him. He pulled out his hookshot and handed it to the ranch girl. "Here. Fire this at the vines on the cliff. Don't let go. Understand?"

Romani nodded, having seen how the hookshot works before, and did as told. Next thing she knew she was flying towards the cliff and grabbing a vine for dear life. She turned to see Link had put on his Deku mask and was hopping across the poisoned water to the cliff.

But when Link started climbing the cliff, several small things came flying out of the bushes and struck him in the back. Link, still in Deku Scrub form, froze for a moment, then his grip loosened and he flew onto a lilypad. He looked like he was drugged. Romani tried to get down to help him, but soon felt a few pricks in her own back and started blacking out. She was already out before she fell on top of Link. Tatl and Tael tried to wake them up, but they were out cold.


	24. Woodfall Swamp 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

_Sorry for the delay in updates. I haven't had the best opportunities to do so lately._

Chapter Twenty-Four: Woodfall Swamp Part Two

_Link:14 Romani:14_

When Link regained consciousness, he found himself in the throne room of the Deku Palace. Sitting upright, he found himself unharmed and unbound between the fireplace and the throne. He saw the Deku king, the princess, the butler, and several deku acting as guards, but no Romani.

"Where is Romani?" Link firmly asked. When he heard the whistly voice of his Deku Scrub form, he realized he was still wearing his Deku Mask.

"Oh, do you mean her?" One of the guards asked then pointed behind himself.

Link saw Romani tied to a pole behind bars, exactly like the imprisoned monkey from over four years ago. She still looked unconscious, but at least unhurt. Nevertheless, Link didn't like this. "Let her go now!"

The Deku king ignored this and pointed his staff at Link sternly. "Why were you leading a human to our sacred temple?"

"Father, be nice." The Deku princess piped in. She looked just like how she did the last time Link saw her as if Deku aged slowly like most plants. "That's Mr. Link, the one who saved me years ago."

'Glad she recognized me.' Link thought. "I was going to check the temple to see what was causing the problems in the swamps. The human girl is my partner."

"Humans have no business here in our kingdom. This does not involve her." The king replied.

"Actually, it does." Link countered. "She has been cursed, and destroying a monster here will help save her life. And we believe it's at the temple and causing the problems here as well. I'm taking her there with or without your permission."

The guards surrounded him. "Just who do you think you are, sapling?"

"Stand down." The princess ordered, then stepped forward, parting the ring of guards. "He helped us all four years ago. We should trust that he knows what he's doing."

"No humans involved." The king repeated.

"Father," the princess gave him a frustrated look. "Do I have to beat you up again?" The king appeared to take the hint, so she turned back to Link. "Can you help us?"

"First release my partner." Link demanded. In no time Romani was untied and placed next to Link. She was still unconscious, for the tranquilizer used in the deku darts hadn't worn off yet for her. Since Link was in his deku form when hit, the effect didn't last as long for him. "Now, what do you know about the situation so far?"

The princess sighed sadly, although it sounded more like a sad whistle. "The water is poisoned like last time you helped me. There are also hundreds of snakes in the area, much more so than normal, making it dangerous to use the waterways. And large black snakes have been coming out of the sky and eating all the animals it can catch."

"So far we've been ignored by the sky-snakes." The butler added. "We think they may only eat meat, which we are not."

Link nodded in understanding. "I believe the root of all this is at the temple. Watch my friend since she isn't able to go with me now, and I'll go take care of the problem."

They agreed and less than an hour later Link had reached the top of Woodfall Peak. He met Tatl and Tael outside the palace since the deku wouldn't let them enter. Tatl went with Link while Tael stayed to keep watch over Romani if anything happened. When Link and Tatl got to the top they saw Obsidia standing casually by the back doorway to the temple, staring at her nails as if bored. Even though it was night, they could still see her. Link removed his mask and glared at the dark woman. She saw Link and grinned, then spoke up.

"The wooden south, so full of life,

Hides many forms of pain.

Poisoned fang, glistened claw,

All mortal man's bane.

And those who face it with but a sword,

Cannot be called the sane."

Afterwards Obsidia disappeared and left a warp trail that went north. Link then heard a loud hissing sound from behind the other side of the temple. Soon the head of a large brown snake rose over the building and stared at him. Atop the head was something who looked like an orange Garos.

"That thing is apparently called Vipra. It's body is fragile but the snake it's riding is anything but that. You may have to beat it first." Tatl soon told Link. One of a fairy's most useful skills was immediately being able to analyze an enemy so their partner would know what to do. And it was a skill that served Link well several times in the past.

Link pulled out his gilded sword and the large snake lunged. Thankfully the temple was in the way so it wasn't quick enough to make contact. It went around to try and get him, but he went around too, strategically keeping the building in between them. The water around the temple was shallow enough that he was able to stand and walk normally. Link was able to notice that the owl statue on the platform was crumbled, which explained why he and Romani hadn't been able to simply warp there in the first place.

Link saw the end of the snake's tail curl towards him and was within his reach. He struck it with his sword, but it had no effect of it, much like striking brick. The head got close enough now to strike again, so Link blocked the mouth with his blade. The weapon stopped the snake, but there was no cut anywhere.

'Damn. If swords don't work, then how about this?' Link put his sword away and armed his bow. He fired an arrow, but it bounced off one of the snake's fangs and landed in the beam of one of the walkways. Link tried again, and the same thing happened. However, the third arrow pierced the snake's eye.

The snake collapsed and twitched, and the orange Garos that Tatl called Vipra jumped off. In the air three needle-like spikes came out of it's sleeves like claws and he tried to slash Link, who blocked with his shield. Vipra moved fast so Link used a deku nut to stun it for a moment. Link pulled out his Great Fairy sword, since the gilded sword wasn't effective previously, and sliced off his foe's arm. The severed part turned to orange leaves, fell for a bit, then flew right back to the stump and reformed into an arm again.

The nut's effect wore off and Vipra tried slashing Link again, but now only using the arm that hadn't been cut off before. The large snake got back up and tried to pounce again. Link dodged it, but stepped on a slippery rock and fell, twisting his ankle. Grimacing, he shot another arrow at the snake, hitting it's other eye and effectively blinding it and making it fall and twitch again.

Seeing the teenage boy down for the time, Vipra tried to stab him. but Link blocked with his shield. Acting quickly Link stabbed Vipra in the chest. Vipra's whole body burst into orange leaves before reforming completely. The large snake tried again to bite Link even if blinded. Unable to dodge, Link lit a bomb and threw it. The snake swallowed it, then it's head exploded, effectively killing it.

Vipra tried to strike now that Link was momentarily distracted. Link got his shield out, but Vipra didn't make contact. Before he could, flames erupted on Vipra's back and he danced around wildly as if in severe pain, then swiftly burned to ash that dissolved in Woodfall Peak's water.

Link and Tatl wondered what happened, then saw Romani with her bow out and Tael beside her at the entrance to the area. They came towards Link to see how he was. They gave him a potion and Romani massaged his ankle. Then they both felt a burn at their shoulders and looked at their curse marks. One of the four comma-shape marks, the bottommost one, had vanished while the rest remained.

Link and Romani then saw the water in the area rise and was no longer purple, meaning the swamp was cured. Even better, the cloud that had been completely covering the sky was beginning to dissipate and the tentacles that dangled from it withdrew.

"Looks like you saved the swamp, Grasshopper." Romani said. Link smiled proudly, but lost his grin when he saw her hurt face. "Next time, please wait for Romani." He bashfully nodded.


	25. Woodfall Swamp 3

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty-Five: Woodfall Swamp Part Three

_Link:14 Romani:14_

When Link regained the ability to stand, he suddenly heard a low yet loud booming voice come from out of nowhere. With the way Romani, Tatl, and Tael moved their heads, it was obvious they heard it too. No words could be distinguished, but it still sounded familiar to Link. As he tried to place where he had heard this before, a small green ball of light appeared instantly between him and Romani, and in his peripheral vision he saw a purple light next to one of the beams in the wooden walkways.

"That sound... it's so familiar." Tatl thought out loud, trying to place where she had heard it.

The green ball of light faded and in it's place there was a Deku mask. It looked exactly like the one Link already had. It hovered for a brief moment, staring right at Romani it seemed, before falling down and floating on the water. Link grabbed it and led everyone out of the water onto dry land.

"Another Deku mask? Why would you need another one?" Romani asked.

Link looked at her then back at the mask. "I think... maybe this is for you." He then offered it to her.

Romani looked surprised. "Me? But why? And how?"

"Hey! Now I know what that sound is!" Tatl exclaimed as the booming melodic sound faded away. "That was the Oath to Order, the song of the giants."

"The giants must have given you this mask." Link replied.

"But why? What did I do to deserve this? You fought more than Romani did, so why me?" Romani asked, so uncertain of all this.

"I would have been severely in trouble if you hadn't shown up. Besides, maybe the giants want to help you if you're going to help me." Link suggested. "C'mon, try it on."

Romani looked at the mask hesitantly, but placed it on her face. She immediately felt a surge of magic flow into her body and a burning sensation on her face. It faded almost instantly and a brief flash of light blinded her. When she could see, she saw Link and the fairies give her a surprised look. She then noticed like Link was much taller than he usually was.

"Did it work?" Romani asked. She gasped when her voice sounded whistlely.

"Look at your reflection." Tatl told her.

Romani looked at the water. She saw a small Deku Scrub wearing her normal clothes, sans equipment, with a mop of red grass that was probably supposed to be her hair. She had yellow pupil-less eyes and a snout-like mouth which caused the whistely tone of voice the Deku had. The mask had indeed worked.

"Wow. This is... odd," was all Romani could mutter.

"I felt the same way when I first transformed." Link told her.

Tatl laughed. "Are you kidding? You nearly crapped yourself." Link glared at her. "Well you did."

Romani pulled off her new Deku mask and returned to her normal self. "Say, what about those purple lights that were over there?" She pointed at the walkway. Everyone used the walkways to get where she had pointed, and they found something really interesting.

Two arrows were embedded in the wooden poles, having been deflected in Link's battle with the giant snake. But these arrows had a purple glow around the arrowhead. It was just like with the fire, ice, and light arrows. Link reached down and pulled out both, handing one to Romani for her to look at.

Tatl looked closely at the new purple arrow and gasped. "This arrow has a poisonous aura to it. It's just like the fire arrow, but instead of making something catch fire, it most likely just posions them."

"Cool. A Poison Arrow. That should come in handy later." Link said before putting it in his quiver. Like with the other elemental arrows, all he had to do was place this one in his quiver and it would gain the ability to turn other arrows later into this type of one. Romani did the same thing.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tael asked.

"As long as we never hit ourselves or someone we care about, yes." Romani replied then turned to Link. "We should probably go back to the Deku palace before we go anywhere else."

Link nodded, and both left Woodfall Peak to go back to where the Deku lived. Romani stayed in her human form while Link put his Deku mask back on, since this was how they would recognise them both. When they got there, they noticed that the waterways were no longer flooded with hundreds of snakes, but covered in many leaves of various colors. The guards let them both enter and took them both to the throne room.

Link and Romani told the Deku king and princess that they had killed a monster outside the temple and that the thing in the clouds wouldn't be able to strike the swamp anymore. The princess added that all the many snakes that had infested the area had vanished and become leaves, so the problem was surely taken care of. The king apologized for his rudeness, but requested they be on their way if they had no more business there. Link and Romani nodded and left the palace. Neither was in the mood to sleep, so they headed back towards the field, ready to go towards the mountains and face their next challenge.


	26. Snowhead Mountains 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty-Six: Snowhead Mountains Part One

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_Just so no one's confused later on, this is how I'm making the geography of Termina. Woodfall Swamp is about twelve to thirteen hours away from Clocktown by foot. Romani Ranch is about the same distance. The place in the mountains where the smith shop is is about three days away from Clocktown by foot if you take the way Link takes. Great Bay is about eighteen hours away from Clocktown by foot. And Ikana Canyon's waterfall is about two-and-a-half days away from Clocktown by foot. On horse these routes are considerably quicker. _

_The reason I'm doing this is because if I kept the geography in scale to what's shown in the game, Termina would be as big as a county at best, not a country. But it can't be too big because Link had to at least reach one owl statue in the first three day cycle or else he'd never finish what he needed to do in the area._

Without the Song of Soaring working due to broken owl statues and the creatures Tatl dubbed Scowlets, it took Link and Romani several days to get to the mountains from the swamp. The Scowlets immediately tried to charge at the two teens as soon as they saw them. The two tested out their newly acquired Poison Arrows on the carnivorous cows. Once hit, the creatures spasmed, bellowed, collapsed and rotted to bone in moments. Apparently the venom in these arrows was quite potent. This stopped the herd of Scowlets from charging, but not from stalking the two, looking for any moment to pounce. As a result, the two had to keep their bows armed and ready at all times as they tried to walk north. And with their defenses always up like this, it took them an entire day just to get to Clocktown, where they rested inside an open room inside the Stock Pot Inn.

When they left town and walked through the northern part of the field, there were no Scowlets there to bother them. This encouraged them to go much quicker, but the snow coming down from the mountains was just as much a discouragement as the monster bovines. It reminded Link of the first time he went to the mountains. With the weather acting against him, the natural distance from the town to the mountains, and most of the quick ways buried in snow, it took Link a whole three day cycle just to get to the first owl statue. This time the weather was just as bad and snow and ice was everywhere again. Even without stopping to sleep, it took Link and Romani two days just to get to the main pass up the mountain. Of course they had to use a few arrows to get rid of the ice blocking the way.

As they climbed the slope up, the two teens noticed a rumble in the cloud, like thunder, and thought they saw several tentacles come down from the sky and descend somewhere in the distance. Worried, they tried to go faster to their destination. They tried to ignore the creatures that tried to ambush them, but the white wolfos were too hard to pass without fighting off. At least they could outrun the things that looked like living snowballs.

Three-and-a-half days after leaving Clocktown, the two just had to stop and get some sleep. Luckily they had grabbed a tent back in Clocktown and set it up. Link offered to stay up a little longer with the All Night Mask and keep guard while she slept. She thanked him with a kiss and offered to trade places when she was rested enough. While Romani and Tael slept and Link and Tatl kept his eyes forcibly open, a small number of people Link recognized from Clocktown came running down the mountain trail, as if running from a forest fire. Link managed to stop one of them long enough to hear just what had happened. They said they had left Clocktown when the tentacles first attacked and came up to the mountain valley. At first there was no problem outside the frigid cold, but now the tentacles were striking again. Link told them to head to the swamp since the tentacles couldn't go there anymore, but he wasn't sure if anyone heard him. Hours later he would realize he forgot to warn them about the Scowlets, and hoped they would be okay.

After eight hours, Romani and Tael woke up completely refreshed. She took the All Night Mask, just in case, and stood guard while Link and Tatl took a break. By now it was night, but with the giant murky white cloud she couldn't see the stars or moon. "Cremia, Romani hopes you're okay. I swear Link and I will save you from that Obsidia bitch." She said more to herself than anything. Silence when she was alone always made her edgy. Tael just hovered close by quietly, not knowing what to say.

Then Romani heard a twig snap towards her right, and she was immediately alert. From behind the trees she could see the silhouette of some kind of hulking beast. Being creative, Romani fired a Light Arrow at it. It struck but moved away to hide. In the brief moment when the light showed the creature, Romani thought she saw a white wolfos, but something was definitely different about it. She heard some more twigs snap and leaves ruffle, so whatever it was, it wasn't dead yet. Romani put away her bow and pulled out her sword. Romani felt a thud behind her, as if something big had just landed there, and she turned around.

What she saw made her gasp. It looked like a white wolfos, but was easily bigger and more aggressive looking. It wore pads on it's shoulders, elbows, and knees, and wore fingerless gloves, sandals, and a loincloth. It looked more human-shape than wolf-shape, and even stood like a person.

"What the hell? A werewolfos?" Romani all but shouted, having heard about such a thing but never thought was real.

The werewolfos swung a claw at the ranch girl, who blocked with her shield. She tried to retaliate with her sword, but the white lycan caught it like it was a deku stick, and snapped it just as easily. Romani threw a few deku nuts, which froze the beast, and she fired two Poison Arrows at it. The werewolfos howled, but died and decayed in seconds. Romani sighed and looked to see if there were more, just in case werewolfos traveled in packs. Luckily this one at least was a lone wolfos.

Sunrise came and Link woke up. "Morning, Ladybug. Anything happen last night?"

Romani smiled and returned the All Night Mask. "Yeah. Romani had to fight off a monster. Nothing Romani couldn't handle, but..." She then held up what was left of her sword.

"Crap." Link commented. "Well, let's hope the smith is still able to help us, if the cloud thing hasn't gotten to him already."

The two packed up their tent and continued climbing up the trail.


	27. Snowhead Mountains 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Snowhead Mountains Part Two

_Link:14 Romani:14_

When Link and Romani reached the mountain valley Link would warp to normally, the first thing they did was go to the smith hut. They weren't really surprised to see the place was deserted. It was hard to tell for sure if the thing in the clouds had eaten anyone there already, but since there was a hole in the wall it wasn't impossible. Link and Romani salvaged for a replacement sword for Romani. After fifteen minutes, they found an acceptable one. It was the same size as her old one so it would fit in her sheath, and looked just like Link's gilded sword, but this one was bronze instead of gold. Satisfied, Romani claimed it as her own.

With that down, next came the hard part, actually getting to Snowhead Temple. The way Link knew best was really only designed for goron usage, so Romani couldn't use it. And she had already made it clear that she wasn't going to sit out on this battle like a helpless little girl. She mused that maybe Link as a goron could carry her there, but Link swiftly countered. If he tried to hold her while spinning fast enough to jump the breaks in the cliffside, he might end up crushing her to death. And even if she survived unharmed, she would be much too dizzy to actually do anything, and the odds weren't likely they could wait until she recomposed herself before their enemy did something. So they had to find an alternative path to Snowhead, if there was such a thing.

On Link's first quest in Termina, there had been so much snow that many of the routes thru the mountain had been closed off. So he only took the most obvious and convenient ways to get around, never thinking he would later need an alternative. Now he regretted this. Looking around, most paths were again buried under too much snow that would require their entire supply of fire arrows to make usable. Most cliffs and ledges were frozen so they were too slippery to get a proper hold on, even if they used their swords for leverage. It was like fate was against them this time.

"Why don't we go ask the gorons if they can show us another way?" Romani asked as they sat by the lit furnace inside the smith hut, rubbing her arms to keep warm.

"I'm not sure about that." Tatl replied. "The deku weren't too keen on some nondeku going to their shrine. What if the gorons are the same way?"

"You got a better idea?" Link commented.

"Actually, yes." Tatl answered, making the two teens lean in closer. "If you're worried about her getting hurt as you roll, just get a healing fairy to use on her afterwords. She'll be as good as new."

Link smirked. "Makes sense." He then turned to the ranch girl. "You up to that?"

She was already up on her feet with an empty jar in her hand. "Where can I find one of those fairies?"

In no time they were both outside throwing large natural snowballs to release whatever had been frozen inside. When they finished both had gained two healing fairies, some abandoned rupees, and a couple of bombs. Romani asked how could these things just be lying around like this, and Link suggested that some passerbys probably just weren't careful with their things. Maybe trader caravans, since things like these were much more common in the fields outside Clocktown. Either way, they had what they needed and went to the path that led to the temple.

Before they got to the cliffside, Link put on his goron mask and became a likeness of the late goron Darmani. Tatl and Tael went into his hat and Romani positioned herself in front of him, pressing herself into his torso. He wrapped his arms around her and said in his goron form's deep voice, "Sorry if this hurts you."

"Don't worry about me. Romani's flattered, but don't overdo it."

With that, Link curled up, with her in his embrace, and built up speed by rolling in place. Soon spikes formed and he got a sudden burst of speed that made him rush forward. Wanting to get this done and over with, he focused only on jumping the breaks and smashing thru the snow boulders. In record time even for a goron he made it to the part where they could go the rest of the way slowly. He released his companion and took off his mask as the two fairies left his hat.

Romani felt sore from being held in what amounted to a goron bear hug. As if that wasn't bad enough, she was incredibly dizzy and felt like she was going to hurl with just a little encouragement. But outside of that, there was no real damage. It looked like they had overestimated just what would happen to her. However, she felt they underestimated just how nauseous she'd feel.

Link knelt down to examine her and saw nothing alarming. "Are you okay, Ladybug?"

"Uggggahhhhuawnnaabaarrphhh..." was all the response Romani could manage.

Link then held up three fingers. "How many fingers do you see?"

"Uggghhhhh... ahh... eight?"

"She's not going anywhere for a while." Tatl sternly stated. Luckily they weren't quite at the temple yet so there was very little risk of being ambushed.

It felt like an eternity until Romani was stable again, even though it was more like fifteen minutes. They didn't even use one of the healing fairies they captured since there were no real injuries on her. Nobody even tried to go towards the temple until she was able to stand and walk in a straight line without fumbling. Once they were sure she had recovered, they went right to the temple. There was snow but no blizzard winds, and one of the first things they saw were a set of giant bones. Link gasped, thinking they must have belonged to the giant goron that guarded the area.

When they got to the building, Obsidia could be seen sitting on the spiral walkway up to the entrance. Both teens wondered why she wasn't freezing since she didn't appear to wear a shred of clothing. Kicking her feet playfully, their dark adversary noticed them and spoke.

"The cold don't move, the hot don't stop,

Here in the northern range.

The ice and stone hide all enemies

That men consider strange.

And those with closed eyes and ears

Will die if they don't change."

When she finished, Obsidia vanished leaving a warptrail that headed southwest. Link, already having his bow drawn, was frustrated he couldn't fire a shot in time. Romani meanwhile had an eyebrow arched as she processed what Obsidia had just said. It sounded somewhat familiar to her, but she couldn't place where she might have heard it.

Then, they heard a rumble from below them, and both got ready to face whatever creature was coming to fight them.


	28. Snowhead Mountains 3

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Snowhead Mountains Part Three

_Link:14 Romani:14_

After the ground trembled, Link and Romani felt a sudden burst of snow all around them. It felt and looked like a tidal wave made of snow, but did no real harm. They shook most of it off them, then heard their enemy behind them. Turning around, they saw something that they actually couldn't believe for a moment.

They saw two small all-white child-like creatures, one a boy and the other a girl, hovering in the air like poes. They looked just like normal Terminans but had no color anywhere on their bodies, like they were made of snow. Even their clothes were ivory colored. The only thing not white was a black bandanna both had wrapped around their eyes, effectively blinding them. The bandannas seemed to have yellow eyes identical to the ones Link and Romani dreamed about painted on where their eyes should be. The boy held a large white boomerang and the girl held a serrated iron chain.

Tatl trembled. "These two... are called Twinbino." She told the two teens, feeling nervous. "They don't seem to be that strong, but there's something... sinister about their eyes. Whatever you do, _don't_ let them take those bandannas off."

After Tatl finished, Twinbino attacked. They flew right to where the fairy was floating, and Link and Romani along with their fairy partners dodged them by jumping aside. When they failed to strike anything, the two children hovered and moved their heads all around, as if looking for them. Romani moved one foot as she reached for her bow, and the sound of snow being crunched drew her enemies attention. The boy Twinbino threw his boomerang at her, which she repelled with her shield. After a clang sound was made from the impact, the girl Twinbino swung her chain and got it deflected too.

'They can't see, so they're attacking when they can hear where we are.' Link thought to himself. When it looked like they were going to keep attacking Romani, he drew his own bow as silently as he could, and fired an arrow at the boy Twinbino. It hit him in the left arm, making him scream and clutch his wound. The girl Twinbino stopped her attack and floated over to her partners side. When the pain faded, the boy Twinbino seemed to glare at Link, then began to lift up his bandanna.

Link and Romani could never have predicted what came next. With the bandanna up, it was revealed that the boy Twinbino had no eyes, just empty sockets. Then, two brown snake heads came out of the sockets and opened their mouths. Small balls of energy formed in the mouths, and fired at Link. He backjumped and dodged them, and gasped when he saw that the place the energy struck, snow and all, had been turned to solid stone.

With that done, the snake heads retreated into the sockets and the boy Twinbino put his bandanna back in place. Link and Romani were very careful to remain perfectly still and not make a sound. It worked, for Twinbino lost track of them both and looked around aimlessly. Thinking they had a chance to finish them off, Link and Romani both went for their bows. But before they could, the girl Twinbino started to swing her chain over her head like a lasso. The air around all of them began to gain speed and force, and quickly formed an arctic tornado. Link and Romani were caught in it along with Tatl and Tael, and were spun around in the cold cyclone. They tried to stay close together, but the force of the tornado was too much and they were pulled apart.

When Link and Romani landed, they both saw they were no longer at Snowhead Temple, but a completely different part of the mountain range. Worse, they were separated from each other. Tatl was with Link and Tael was with Romani, but the force of Twinbino's storm had placed them at opposite ends of the mountains. Link was at the part closest to Great Bay, and Romani was at the part closest to Ikana Canyon. The two teens tried to look for their missing friend, but they were attacked by Twinbino yet again. They apparently split up too, although for them it was on purpose. The boy was fighting Link and the girl was fighting Romani.

Link was pissed thinking something had happened to Romani, so he went all out in this fight. The terrain was mostly forest, so he had plenty of places to hide from the boy Twinbino's assault. Using deku nuts and the hookshot, he made sounds to distract and confuse his enemy. The boy Twinbino tried to turn Link to stone with his snake-eye attack again, but he fired at one of Link's decoy sounds, giving Link the opportunity to come up from behind and slash his back. Twinbino seemed to be pretty weak when it came to being attacked directly, so he promptly died and turned to stone himself.

Meanwhile, Romani was fighting her own enemy. Her terrain was mostly snow-covered stone with small peaks. The girl Twinbino's chain was able to slice thru the stones easily, but couldn't do the same with Romani's shield and sword. Instead of trying to mislead her enemy, the ranch girl used a full frontal assault way of fighting, much like she knew Link used. Her enemy seemed unable to handle taking a lot of damage, but her chain acted a little like a shield for the bulk of it. And with her hovering it was hard to hit her anyway. When the girl Twinbino used her own snake-eye attack on Romani, she put up her shield to deflect the blast. It worked and her shield was somehow unaffected by the blast. Since her shield wasn't a mirror shield, it couldn't reflect the attack.

After that, the girl Twinbino just hovered and kept her chain cloe to defend herself. Romani paused and tried to analyze her opponent. 'Okay, she can't see and attacks whatever makes a sound. She can turn things to stone, but has to wait to do anything after trying to. She seems to have little endurance and metal appears to be her weakness. I could easily finish her off if I could get close to her.'

Twinbino got close to the ground and spun her chain around. This time it was to attack everything around her, instead of creating a tornado. Romani got struck on her side and fell to the ground, the sound of snow being crushed giving away her position. The girl Twinbino immediately flew towards her to finish her off, but before she got there, Romani pulled an arrow out of her quiver and thrust it into the eye socket of the blind white creature. Twinbino shrieked in pain and collapsed, trying to get the arrow out. Romani then drew her new sword and stabbed her enemy in the heart. When she removed the sword, Twinbino had turned to stone herself.


	29. Separated

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

_Over 6,000 hits now. Wonder if I'll reach 10,000 before this is finished. I've still got a while to go before this wraps up._

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Separated

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_11 weeks left to break curse_

As soon as he was done with his fight, Link heard the giant's booming voice. Tatl translated it and the message was "Find your friend soon." Link didn't need to be told that twice. The problem was how exactly did he do that. The giant was no help there. Link was nowhere near Snowhead Temple and didn't recognize his surroundings. The large domineering cloud had faded away and Link's curse mark had lost another piece. He was sure that meant that Romani had won her own battle with the other Twinbino, and he prayed she was safe.

Link figured that the best way to get back to Romani was first to check the surrounding area, then get back to the field. But because of what the giants said, he doubted that Romani was close by. Nevertheless, Link wanted to make sure. After a full day and night of searching in circles, Link concluded that Romani was nowhere near him. When he got exhausted from hiking in knee-deep snow all the time he set up camp. Tatl tried to keep his spirits up but it was tough.

"Don't be so worried. You taught her everything you know. She'll handle herself just fine." Link slightly nodded but his expression remained passive, so Tatl bopped his head. "Listen, you went out into the world with the fate of it on your shoulders, and you had barely any real training or weapons, right?" He nodded more vigorously this time. "And look what happened to you. You handled it all just fine. Better then most in fact. That girl was given all the advantages you didn't have when you were first alone. I'm completely positive she's in no harm."

Link smiled gently at his opininated fairy partner. "I agree. I guess I'm just feeling lonely. It's been so long since I've been without her it feels weird."

"Bet you're really glad now that you couldn't go home right away, huh?"

Link looked at the stars that now could be seen in the mountains. "Yeah. Sure, I was upset back then because I couldn't go home, but I gained a new one. One I'm glad I got to be a part of."

"But what about when the way back to your country opens up again? What will you do then?" Tatl asked.

Link chuckled. "Y'know, I haven't thought about that in years." He then got a serious look on his face, telling Tatl he was thinking of it now. "Well, I'm not sure what I'll do. Part of me says I should go back, but another part says Hyrule can do just fine without me for another five years."

If Link could see Tatl's face, he'd see a coy smirk there. "Sounds like you're going to let your girlfriend decide for you."

Link looked at the fairy surprised. "What do you mean by that?"

"Come on. If that redhead says she wants you to stay with her, you know you will. I know you will. You'll only go back to your first home if she makes you. And I'm betting you'd prefer it if she tagged along."

Link blushed, feeling embarrassed. Then he turned away and scoffed. "So what? Yes it would be nice if we could stay together. But what if she doesn't want that?"

Tatl hit him much harder this time. "Are you an idiot? In the past week I've been with you I could tell she loves you." The look on Link's face implied he didn't understand her. "It's a girl thing. That girl loves you, maybe even more then you love her. So why don't you two just admit it already?"

"It's not that easy."Link replied. "It's a guy thing. Besides, are you sure she feels that way? How do you know she doesn't see me as a brother?"

"Do you see her as a sister?"

Link shook his head. "No. The only ones I see as sisters are Cremia and Saria."

"Then what is Romani to you?" Tatl bluntly asked.

Link struggled to put his answers into words, and was tempted to not bother at the moment. But Tatl was a persistant one, and he'd get no rest until she was satisfied. "You're right on one thing for sure: I do love Romani."

"Then why not tell her? You're not a brother to her. She definitely wouldn't kiss you like that if she saw you that way." Tatl had caught the young pair making out a few times when they woke up or went to sleep. "Free advice, Link. The girl prefers it if the man says those three little words first."

"It's just not something I know how to handle. You know about my past. Love was never part of the Kokiri lifestyle, and I was too busy to learn how to deal with this in Hyrule." Link defended himself. He had heard bits and pieces during his travels about what couples did, but it wasn't until he moved into the ranch that he was properly taught. So he wasn't as ignorant as he'd like the fairy to believe.

Tatl saw right thru his statement. "Wow. Who'd of thought that a great hero like you would be shy?"

Link grumbled then ate and went inside his tent to sleep. The next morning he started walking to try and get to the field. Luckily the snow had thawed a little by now. Tatl knew better then to keep pestering him so she kept watch for any threats or allies. They ended up fighting a few random creatures like tekites and guays along the way.

A week later, still no sign of Romani, Link reached a familiar sight. Standing on a cliff, he saw the vast ocean at Great Bay. Under the cliff and towards his left, Link could see the Gerudo base and where they kept some of their ships. A few of the pirates could be seen working, but none of them could see Link.

"Well, at least I can get back to the field from here." Link said to himself.

"If you can get past them that is." Tatl added.

Link shot Tatl an irritated look. "You just _had_ to jinx me, didn't you?"

"What? Think you can't?"

Link shrugged this off. "C'mon, let's get this done."


	30. Isolated

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty: Isolated

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_11 weeks left to break curse_

As soon as she was done with her fight, Romani heard the giant's booming voice. Tael was able to understand it better and said they were saying "Find your friend soon." Romani immediately agreed, but wasn't exactly sure how to do that just then. The ranch girl was nowhere near Snowhead Temple and didn't recognize her surroundings. The large domineering cloud had faded away and Romani's curse mark had lost another piece. She was sure that meant that Link, wherever he was, had won his own battle with the other Twinbino, not that she ever doubted he could.

After hearing the giants try to give her advice, Romani noticed two glowing balls of light near her, much like back when Vipra was slain at Woodfall. The first ball revealed a goron mask for her, which she later tested and became a female goron with. The second ball was apparently around the arrow she used to fight Twinbino, giving it a gray aura. Tael tried to figure out what powers this new elemental arrow had, but wasn't able to figure it out. All he could say was that it reminded him of the power that radiated from the two Twinbinos. Thinking it would be useful later, Romani put it in her quiver.

Romani's first idea was to get back to Snowhead Temple, thinking Link would do the same. That proved futile quickly since neither her or her fairy partner had a clue where they were or where the temple was. With the large unnatural cloud gone over the mountains the sun was clearly visible again so they could at least figure out where east and west were. With no recognizable landmarks around Romani was pretty much lost in every sense of the word. Since she at least knew where south was, she could head towards Termina field, and figured that was better than nothing.

The problem was that the surrounding landscape wasn't going to make it easy. It was the kind of terrain that made mountain goats feel at home but few others. The ground was uneven and small peaks were everywhere. There wasn't a lot of snow here but the breeze was still chilly. Romani didn't want to stay here much longer and thus headed in what looked like the easiest way away.

Over the next few days Romani walked down paths carved naturally from erosion but led nowhere. Some came to dead ends and others went up the mountains. She felt like a rat in a maze. Tael, being naturally quiet, wasn't much company but ensured she found food to eat so she didn't exhaust her provisions. The fairy started noticing that for the past few nights the ranch girl had cried herself to sleep. He had a good idea why and wanted to comfort her, but wasn't sure how.

One night, after a day of fighting back stray wolfos, tekites, and small dodongos, Romani found a hot spring that was comfortable and decided to relax. Tael kept his distance to give the girl privacy and keep watch. Laying neck-deep in the warm water, Romani unwinded and thought about Link. A few tears came down her cheeks.

"For the first time in my life, I'm really truly alone." Romani quietly said to herself without reason. "My parents are dead, my sister is captured, my aunt might be dead, and Link..." She struggled to form words for a moment. "Link is... somewhere, but Romani doesn't know where." She knew she was really uncomfortable if she was referring to herself in the third person by herself.

"Link, Romani wants you here. Romani wants to see you, to hear you, to touch you. Romani doesn't feel right alone. Romani doesn't feel right... without you. It's only been a few days and Romani... misses you terribly. Romani feels hollow without you."

When she finished and wiped away her tears, a song played in Romani's mind. It was a song she had heard at the last Carnival of Time in Clocktown, one that wasn't played by the Indigo-Gos. It reminded her of herself and Link quite a bit at the time and even more so now. In her mind, some of the lyrics had been revamped to better fit her overall situation, and she ended up singing it softly to herself so no one, not even Tael, would hear it.

_based on the song "Miracle" by Cascada_

"Boy, meets girl.

You soon became my world.

But I, was blind

To how you might leave me behind.

Then I'll be on, my own.

I feel so damn alone.

Now I'm sure, it's true,

I'm really in love with you.

I need a miracle.

I wanna be your girl.

Give me a chance to see

That we were meant to be.

I need a miracle.

Please let me be your girl.

One day you'll see

What you mean to me.

I need a miracle.

I wanna be your girl.

Give me a chance to see

That we were meant to be.

I need a miracle.

Please let me be your girl.

One day you'll see

What you mean to me,

What you mean to me."

She then hummed the instrumental part of the song rather than get her ocarina. Memories of her and Link growing up on the ranch played through her head as she did, until she stopped and sang the next part.

"Day, and night,

I'm always by your side,

Cause I know, for sure,

My love is real, my feeling's pure.

So give us, a try,

No need to ask me why,

Cause I know, it's true

I'm really in love with you.

I need a miracle.

I wanna be your girl.

Give us a chance to see

That we were meant to be.

I need a miracle.

Please let me be your girl.

One day you'll see

What you mean to me.

I need a miracle.

I wanna be your girl.

Give us a chance to see

That we were meant to be.

I need a miracle.

Please let me be your girl.

One day you'll see

What you mean to me,

What you mean to me."

She finished humming the rest of the song and closed by saying "Miracle," one more time. Part of her felt better, more relaxed, while another part just longed for the green-clad boy more. Unable to do anything else, Romani got out of the water, dried off, and went to sleep with Tael close by.

The next day, Romani used the goron mask to cover more ground. While moving as a goron was awkward, when she rolled she covered much more ground and there were fewer obstacles. Romani wondered just how gorons were able to move like that so fast and still be able to sense their surroundings. Even when she did it she had no answer. The best way to describe it was some sort of out-of-body sight. That didn't mean she never collided with anything. It was a good thing that a goron body was so durable.

About a week after reaching Snowhead Temple, Romani finally reached somewhere flat. She took off her mask and scanned the area. There was no green grass, a few dry trees, and lots of sand. It looked like she was in the place where the mountains and canyon connected. The strange cloud that had been covering Termina covered half the sky here, but at least Romani didn't see any of those awful tentacles.

Romani tried to keep walking, But Tael panicked and flew all over the area. He was pointing out where enemies lurked, but she couldn't see anything. Either way, she grabbed her sword and got defensive. Then she felt something grab her leg from her side.


	31. Intermission

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-One: Intermission

_Anju:21 Kafei:22 Cremia: 21_

At Romani Ranch, Anju and Kafei were unsure of what to do. They had run out of food that they had brought with them and had been able to find at the ranch, or what was left of it.

"Anju dear, we can't stay here. If we do we'll starve." Kafei told his nervous wife.

"And if we leave we'll be eaten by those monstrous things!" She countered, clutching her son to her to calm him down. Or more likely to calm herself down. "For some reason those things haven't attacked us here. And I don't want to leave this safe place and risk our lives like that."

"But if we stay here, we're still risking our lives." Kafei told her. "I can only forage in the surrounding forest for so long. You know I'm not much of an outdoorsman. I can't hunt and we can't survive for long on berries and nuts."

"But where do we go that we can be safe?"

Kafei looked up. "We go south. That thing, whatever it is, was in the clouds and the sky over the swamp is clear so we won't be attacked there."

Anju looked like she thought it was a ridiculous idea. "To the swamp? With snakes and spiders and octoroks and keese and who knows what else? You think we'll be safe there?"

"Food and shelter will be easier to get there and besides, we can't go back to Clocktown or thru the field." Kafei argued but saw his wife wasn't buying it. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Two little kids were willing to do it. So why are you afraid?"

"Those two kids had swords and knew what to expect. We don't."

"Mama, I'm hungry." The pair's son interupted with a whine.

Kafei sighed. "I know, and we'll get food soon." He then looked back at his wife. "We have no choice. If we stay we starve. We have to risk it."

Anju wanted to argue, but her son's face drained her resolve. "...Alright, but we go throught the woods, not the field." Kafei nodded. Not wanting to wait any longer, they gathered up some of their things and trekked through the woods that separated the ranch from the swamp. Later they would find some fruits and a nice fishing spot they could settle at for a few days at least. Anju made it a point to collect food they didn't have to eat right away so they could return to the ranch, thinking it was still the safest place to be since the creature that devoured her other relatives wouldn't go there for some reason.

--

Epona had been trotting in the field after Link had sent her away. When she got there there were some red cowlike beasts charging at her and some odd black things dangling from the sky. Both set off the colt's danger sense and she tried to gallop away. It didn't look like she would escape. But before she could get touched by either, a bright light filled Epona's eyes and she felt lighter. She got really nervous when she realized she couldn't feel the ground beneath her hooves. Fortunately a rather soothing melody calmed her down.

"Poor girl. That was a close one. We can't have you getting eaten or hurt. Our young hero wouldn't appreciate that. So we'll place you somewhere safer for now, where you'll get back with him later and someone else will enjoy your presence for the time being." A soft woman's voice could be heard telling Epona. Of course, to the horse it was just noise without meaning, but it had the desired tranquil effect on the animal.

When the light faded and Epona could see and feel ground again, the terrain was different. There was still grass but the shape of the land was different. Even the scent was different, but still familiar to the young horse. Epona had no idea where she was or how she got there, but she was safe and was confident that Link would find his way back to her. Or at least she would get to him if he played that song that summoned her.

--

Cremia sat curled up in a dark room with no light except for some kind of soft overhead glow. She saw and heard nothing, except some brief glimpses of what Link and Romani were doing from time to time. She prayed for their well-being and that they could help her. If anybody could, it was those two.

She had been here ever since the attack of the ghosts. The cattle-stealing spirits that Romani had told her about but she never believed in. If she got out of this she'd never doubt her little sister again. They came and took her along with the cows, then she saw two yellow eyes, then darkness blinded her and next thing she knew she was here, and had been here ever since then. She once heard the voice of some person, most likely a man, tell her that she would stay this way until he had all his fun with her sister and 'brother' and he would use her as a way to keep tabs on them and keep them involved in his sick plot. Cremia pleaded for mercy, but only got laughed at.

Since then, this was what she was confined to, and hoped with every fiber of her being that those two could get her out of this.

_Sorry that it's not Link and Romani like you were expecting, but I figured I needed to tell alittle on these characters now. Epona's part will be explained in further detail at the end of the story and no sooner. Cremia's situation will be dealt with sooner when the time is right. No comment on Anju and Kafei yet._

_Would you like me to do Link and Romani alternating chapters until they reunite, or write a Link arc then a Romani arc instead? Also, I really hate to do this, I really do, but from now on I'd like to get at least two or three reviews each update before I post the next one. I just don't like how so many will read this but so few will tell me what they think about it._


	32. Pirates of Great Bay 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Two: Pirates of Great Bay--Curse of the Black Tentacles

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_10 weeks to lift curse_

Link walked along the edge of the cliff slowly to ensure no Gerudo would be able to see him. But when he got closer to the fortress, he saw that really wasn't a problem. Only two pirates were actually outside tending to the many ships, but both were heavily armed and constantly glancing upwards. It almost looked like they were expecting something to fall on them. Link hoped their attention was focused enough that they wouldn't think to check his direction and he'd be able to go over their fort unnoticed. No sense in getting into avoidable trouble.

Link noticed two tentacles descend from the giant cloud that still covered Great Bay shore and extended far over the ocean. One had an eye and the other had that weird three-lipped spinning-fangs mouth. The Gerudo noticed this too and immediately got defensive with their swords. They looked ready to fight but were clearly trying to back away into the fortress behind them. Link could hear the mouth make a shrill shriek and lunge at one pirate, who struck back. The mouth was wounded, but the Gerudo lost her entire right arm. The other Gerudo got closer to overlook and defend her partner, and was attacked by the mouth herself. All she suffered was losing some fingers on her left hand when she swung her sword in defense. But it seemed that the mouth wasn't done yet and tried again.

Link decided he just couldn't stand back and let this happen, even if the Terminan Gerudo had previously acted like enemies to him and Romani. After all, what would Nabooru do if she heard he ignored two Gerudo in danger, even if they weren't of her tribe? Either way, he put a regular arrow into his bow and fired at the mouth. It hit in the tendril part behind the actual mouth, making it stop and making the eye look towards him. Link fired another arrow that severed the mouth entirely, and he could have sworn the eye glared at him, if a single eye could such a thing.

Link was about to fire an arrow at the eye when he heard Tatl shout "Link! Look out!" He tried to turn around, but before he completely could, he felt something push him right off the cliff. He was unable to keep his balance and fell towards the water, catching a glimpse of the clawed tentacle that did the shoving. Tatl flew after him, knowing she couldn't save him but wasn't going to abandon him now. Link hit the water, and soon hit his head against a submerged rock. His vision soon blurred and went black.

--

Link opened his eyes, but immediately had to close them for the light hurt. He noticed he was dry and the back of his head had a slight throb to it.

"So, you've decided to rejoin the living, huh boy?" Some woman's voice could be heard saying. They sounded a little like Cremia to Link.

Link opened his eyes again and could tolerate the light. He saw he was inside some room in a bed with a few blankets keeping him warm. The room looked like one from the Stock Pot Inn. He also saw an older woman about thirty years old, 28 at the youngest it appeared, sitting on a stool with a bucket, rag, and fruit basket nearby. Her red hair and deep tan immediately revealed she was a Gerudo, although her manner of dress was better suited for a nurse or nanny than a pirate.

Link almost got defensive around her, thinking he was taken hostage. The fact that his weapons weren't on him at the moment didn't help. The Gerudo noticed his discomfort and sought to remedy that. "It's alright. You got a rather nasty bump from that fall and were out for two days. Your weapons are under the bed to make the others feel better about your being here."

"Why help me?" Link asked.

"Why do you ask that? Is it because you're a boy? Well, traditionally we don't offer hospitality to men unless we need mates, but since you saved two of our fighters, one being my little sister, we decided to be fair and be nice. Some didn't agree, claiming they recognized you from some time ago, but we've managed to keep them at bay."

Link kept silent, feeling apprehensive over the whole situation. Basically he was a well-treated prisoner of the Gerudo, and he didn't intend for that to be long. He was going to get out of here no matter what and find his way back to Romani. Obsidia and whatever beast she had waiting for them would just have to wait. Romani was his top priority right now.

The caretaker offered Link some fruit to eat while she examined his head. She was relieved to see that the swelling had gone down and that the worst was behind him. She commented that some goddess must like him, and he agreed. The guards were notified that he was up and one informed him that he was to go to the captain's chambers right away, although they didn't make him go. The caretaker let him get re-equipped and led him to the room. Link was surprised at her overall nice behavior, and figured not all Gerudo chose to become tough fighters.

Link entered the captain's chambers, the room where he acquired his Terminan hookshot and where Romani was held hostage during a trip t the beach years ago. There was no tank this time. Link saw the captain stand by the throne, with two guards on both sides of her, one holding Tatl captive in a small cage. The captain was different than the last one Link saw, close to Anju's age wearing an open green overcoat with a ponytail. She smiled when she saw Link.

"Ah, good, you're up. Thanks for saving two of the few soldiers I've got left squirt. That's the only reason most decided to help out a strange boy."

"Well then can I go now?" Link asked, fully expecting a 'no'.

"Sorry, that's not a good idea. The sky serpents are still out there and it's dangerous for even what's left of our best to venture out carelessly." The captain answered.

"Sky serpents?" Link repeated. "You mean those black tentacles? Oh they won't attack me."

This caught everyone's attention. "They _won't_ attack you?" One of the guards asked.

Link shook his head. "No, they won't. You see, those 'sky serpents' are being commanded by a dark woman called Obsidia, and she's playing some twisted game with my life and my partner's. So she won't let those things attack us. Just whoever's where we need to go to get rid of them. We already gotten rid of the ones in the swamp and mountains."

The guards and captain all shared a look. "Say boy, if that's true, then we could really use you right now." The captain told him.

"You're not going to give me a choice are you?" Link replied with narrow eyes.

The captain chuckled. "Nope, afraid not. You see, just before the sky serpents attacked here, my predecessor wanted to get a special lost treasure of ours that requires a man's presence to acquire. Just before she set sail with a captive man, we were attacked by those horrid things. My predecessor, the captive, and most of our troops and civilians were devoured right away. So now we're confined to indoors all the time and can't venture out unless we're extremely careful. And even then we're lucky to get away alive."

"And you want me to go get this treasure for you since I'm a man and can go outside without worry." Link stated.

The captain nodded. "Pretty much. Do this and we'll let you have safe passage away from our stronghold and overlook the calamity you've previously caused us. Refuse and... well, we always have fun tormenting males."

Link sighed. "How long would this take? I'm on a time limit thanks to Obsidia."

"Not sure. If there are no disturbances, a round trip might take 2-3 weeks by sail."

Link sighed. "Well, if you keep your word that you'll let me go, then fine. I'll go get your precious treasure. Just let my fairy friend go now."

The captain shook her head. "Sorry. We're keeping the fairy as collateral in case you decide to ditch us and keep the treasure for yourself. And just in case that's not enough..." The captain snapped her fingers.

Before Link could blink, he felt a sudden stab in the back of his left shoulder. He screamed for a moment in agony and collapsed to the ground. When he checked, the wound had already healed, but a black spiral mark had formed on his skin. 'Crap. Another mark.' Link turned to the Gerudo behind him who stabbed him, the one he somehow never even sensed was there. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"That little boy is a special poison of the Gerudo." The captain answered. "It doesn't kill you right away. Instead your body develops an dependence on it, like a drug. If you go twenty-four hours without a dose, then you'll die like with a regular venom. Only we have the antidote. Bring the treasure back, and we'll give you the antidote and your fairy." The captain then motioned to the Gerudo behind him. "My good friend Aruki here will accompany you as your guide thru the sea and to ensure you get more doses. It's in your best interests to keep her alive and safe, especially from the sky serpents."

Link got back onto his feet. "You really do enjoy tormenting men." All he got was several grins. "Fine, I'll do what you want. Just get me on a boat and tell me where this damn treasure is."

The captain nodded then turned to the other Gerudo, the one named Aruki. "You should know what to do. I hope the goddess of the sea will watch over you. Good luck."

Aruki saluted. "Understood, sir." With that, she grabbed Link's sleeve and pulled him down a hallway towards the dock's ready to set sail.


	33. Pirates of Great Bay 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Three: Pirates of Great Bay--Dead Woman's Chest

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_9 1/2 weeks to lift curse_

Link was now aboard a small armored boat of the Gerudo, heading west, having left about two hours ago. He had to steer the ship for the time being since they were still underneath the giant cloud. His crew mate Aruki was inside, presumably protected from the 'sky serpents', hence the reason they took an armored vessel. So far only the ones with eyes or claws came close, trying to watch or get inside the boat. Link might have been worried if he wasn't so sure he was immune to their malevolence. So instead he just hoped they couldn't get to the Gerudo with him.

Things went smoothly and about an hour and forty minutes after passing Pinnacle Rock, the things in the clouds disappeared completely. Link looked up and noticed that the cloud was getting thin as they were nearing it's westernmost edge. Link was glad that obstacle would be gone for now, but waited to tell the Gerudo until after they were out from under it. No sense in doing otherwise.

That time came quickly. Once they were under direct sunlight and out of certain harm's way, Link went down into the bunks where Aruki was keeping herself occupied by playing solitaire and looked like she was getting tired of it. "Hey, good news. We're safe from those things now."

Aruki instantly looked up at him. Like all Gerudo she had red hair and permanently tanned skin. She wore her hair up in a pineapple-style ponytail. Her eyes were a soft green, almost grass-like in hue. Her outfit was a dark purple, almost black from a distance, and it was form-fitting and a little revealing. Straps on her shoulders made her cleavage and scars noticeable to all, and Link couldn't help but notice that in terms of both she had more than Romani. But then again Aruki was sixteen, not fourteen.

"So I can go out now?" She asked. He nodded. "Great. I don't know if I could handle a whole day cooped up in here, much less several weeks."

"Yeah. So now you can help run this ship. You know more about sailing than I do."

Aruki chuckled mockingly. "Well duh. No one knows more about handling the ocean than the Gerudo."

Both went outside to get some fresh air. "So what exactly is this treasure we're supposed to get?"

Aruki leaned onto the railing with crossed arms, starring at some passing dolphins. "No idea kid."

Link gave her a 'what the hell are you talking about?' look. "You don't know?"

"It's been lost for a long time. We've all forgotten what it actually is. All I know is that it's called the Dead Woman's Chest."

"Dead Woman's Chest?" Link repeated. "I hope you don't mean that literally."

"Not that kind of chest perv! Get your mind out of the sludge!" Aruki all but yelled. "It means a treasure chest, one that's been passed down from Gerudo captain to captain for centuries, the contents for their eyes only to help them lead. But last century we had to fight a group of foreign pirates and the chest went missing. Earlier this year some of our scouts finally found where it's been held, but none could get it. Some stone with an inscription warned that the thieves set it up so that only a man could lay their hands on it." Aruki then scoffed. "Which is ironic since only a woman can open it."

"Okay. By the way, why's it called the 'Dead Woman's Chest'?" Link asked.

Aruki turned around so her back was against the railing. "Catchy name, isn't it?" When she noticed Link's face at that answer she laughed a little. "I heard it was made from the bones of our first captain."

The rest of the day and week was filled with idle but decent chatter. Both silently agreed that since they were going to be stuck together for a while there was no sense in having friction between them. They would fish, chitchat, watch the waves, play cards, and even show off their skills in spars. Aruki kept claiming that no man could ever be tougher than a Gerudo, But Link beat her each time. She always asked how he could be so strong, and he simply said he had lots and lots of experience.

On the ninth day of sailing, they reached an island that Aruki said should be where they were to go, at least according to the map. She sure hoped so since this island was on the very edge of the map she brought. Any further out would be uncharted waters. But even if it wasn't the right one, Link felt it would be nice to set foot on dry land and restock on food. The island was heavily forested so that wouldn't be a problem. They docked the boat and went out in search for more provisions.

The two trekked thru the undergrowth and bagged several edible fruits and mushrooms on the first trip. On the second one they chose to see if they could find enough meat for at least one night. They found a decent sized boar that put up a heck of a fight, but it was no match for them. Since it was getting late at night, they decided to save any treasure hunting for tomorrow. They cooked the boar over an open flame and ate on the beach, looking at the scenery and stars. Link kept thinking of Romani and hoped she wasn't in danger wherever she was. Aruki's thoughts were more along the lines of "I bet several of my friends would already be thinking of taking him as a mate". She wasn't, but she knew several who would.

After they had their fill they put everything back inside their ship. But before they could settle down, Link thought he saw something move thru the trees, and it almost looked like it had been watching them both. Suspicious, he pulled out his sword and went after it. Aruki noticed and trailed him. Link never could get a clear look at whatever he was chasing, but never lost track of it. Until he went into a clearing that is, and Aruki joined up with him. It was too dark to see much with only a crescent moon for light, so Link shot a light arrow upwards. The place illuminated and several irritated shrieks were heard.

Up in the trees were dozens of small creatures that could only be described as purple monkeys. But they stood erect on the branches, had dog-shaped ears, and reptilian tails. Some had orange bellies and others had teal, and all had a mad glare. That light arrow nearly blinded them. All of the monkeys suddenly had flames appear on the ends of their fingers and they simply flicked them off over and over again, creating a hailstorm of fire. All Link could do at the moment was use his shield to deflect their barrage, waiting for a gap to get away.

Aruki had a different reaction. Once the attack started, she clapped her hands and they glowed red. Link knew what to expect, since she told him what her gauntlets could do. She wore iron gloves similar to the silver gauntlets Link once had, but hers had four stripes on the back of the hand. The colors were from inside to out black, red, blue, and green. When she clapped, all stripes changed to one color and her gauntlets gained an ability based on that color. Black made them stingers that gave her victims poison, like the one she had to give Link to keep him alive on this trip. Red gave her control over fire, with a few flame spirals around her hands. Blue made whatever she touched freeze, and green created magic barriers, for defense and healing.

Right now Aruki chose to activate the red stripes and literally fight fire with fire. She moved her arms with great speed to deflect all flares back at the monkeys so easily tossing them around. Most dodged and ran off while some of the bravest stuck around. Those that did went to a large tree and cut a vine, causing a large log that apparently was already in place and never noticed by the two humans before. The log dropped down and started rolling towards, and it looked as dangerous as a boulder would have been. Aruki tried to burn it, but the motion and rolling put out the flame effortlessly. So then their instincts said to run.

After a while they stopped, but both had gotten separated. Link was worried. If he didn't find Aruki before too late in the morning the venom would kill him. Surely she wasn't too far away. Using his sword like a machete, he hacked his way thru the foliage to get to her, praying he was going the right direction. Along the way he had to fight off some keese and more of the pyro-monkeys as he dubbed them. At about midnight he found a cave to the underground with a stone tablet like a gossip stone in front that read: "What ye be wanting be here, but only a man's strength 'ill get near".

"Well, it's not an X, but it marks the spot." Link commented, thinking someone had left this specifically to annoy the Gerudo.

He didn't stick around long, but made sure to leave marks in the trees so he could find his way back. He kept walking around trying to find her, but no long. After a few hours, the only thing he found was another foe. It looked like a small crested dodongo, and as soon as it saw Link, it spewed out some sort of black scum that smelled like sulfur. Link struck at it's tail, and it decided to run away and scampered off into a river and swam downstream.

Link rested, feeling lightheaded and seeing spots. His breaths were getting more labored now. Then he saw the sun start to rise from over the canopy. It seemed he had run out of luck--until Aruki showed up and administered the redose to save his life. Once he was well again, he muttered "Let's not cut it that close again."


	34. Pirates of Great Bay 3

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Four: Pirates Of Great Bay--At Termina's End

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_7 weeks to break curse_

Once recovered, Link led Aruki to where he saw the cave and inscription. Before they entered, he looked down into the cavern and asked, "Any idea what to expect?"

"Not really." The Gerudo answered. "Probably some chambers, creatures and traps. Remember, we're barely in charted territory here. There's no telling what we may encounter."

Link took a deep breath. "Well, that's never stopped me before." He then walked down into the cave, expecting to be followed by Aruki but wasn't. When he turned around to face her, she shrugged and said he was the only one who actually needed to enter and do the work. She'd just stay outside and wait. Either way, once she did try to enter, some kind of purple barrier stopped her but not Link. With that, she wished him luck, Link mumbled something, and he simply continued down into the cavern.

The tunnel underground was a gentle slope for several meters. After a short distance it came to a sudden pit with a rickety ladder. Link climbed down it, but one of the rungs broke and he fell the rest of the distance. His rear end stung when he landed on it roughly, but it wasn't anything serious. Link walked forward into the chamber to find what he was looking for. What he found was a circular room with four doors on the walls, each numbered 1-4 from left to right. Only Door 1 was unlocked, so it wasn't hard for the young boy to decide which to enter first.

Inside the first room was a Like Like on a platform. Shortly after he entered, tiles on the floor began to rise into the air and rotate. Well familiar with this situation, Link put up his shield and deflected all the tiles. When that was done, he went up to the Like Like and slashed it to bits. When it melted he gained several valuable rupees it had previously consumed. A small trunk fell from the ceiling onto the platform, which Link found contained a small key. He then went on to the next door.

Inside the second room Link found a purple poe that split into four and disappeared. Once again, Link had been thru this set-up before and got ready. He pulled out his bow and fired at the one poe that spun around an extra time when the ghosts reappeared. The battle wasn't even a contest and ended shortly. Another trunk fell from the ceiling and this one also contained a small key. Link went on to the next door.

Whoever designed this place obviously didn't have Link in mind. The third room contained a Deadhand. While the many-armed ghoul was a nuisance and so far the only thing here that actually succeeded in attacking Link, he was fully capable of slaying the apparition. Another trunk containing a key appeared when the monster rotted and Link entered the fourth room. That room was filled with several flying skulls with flames surrounding them. Link didn't even pull out his sword, just fired a few arrows and was done with the whole thing just like that. Another key was his reward and Link wondered just why the Gerudo were incapable of doing this themselves. If there wasn't some kind of spell preventing their entry, then whoever set this up really was a fool thinking this was a challenge.

Link entered the main room and saw Aruki was there waiting for him. "Hey, got bored waiting for you. Besides, that weird barrier vanished a few moments ago. Did you do something?"

"Not really. Didn't even break a sweat." The young boy replied. Part of him really hoped that wasn't all he had been needed for. That would have been a letdown. He then unlocked the final door, and he and the Gerudo went inside. They found a staircase that spiraled down. It looked rickety so they descended slowly. Sadly a few steps they were on caved in and the two went crashing down to the bottom, breaking thru several more steps along the way. Neither were harmed, but their bodies were sore and covered in splinters, which took about ten minutes to remove from both.

When done, they saw they were on an alcove in front of a giant room. Link was reminded of the tomb in Ikana's graveyard where he fought the big poe, except this one had no platforms. On the wall opposite them was another alcove with the Jolly Roger skull painted on the wall above it. But the most intimidating thing was surely the dozen shiny statues standing in random places that looked like they were suffering. When Link took a closer look, he saw they were made out of diamond, not stone, and the clothes were fabric instead of being carved on. There were also bones and weapons scattered around the floor, indicating there might have been some kind of a brutal fight here long ago.

When Link and Aruki got onto the main floor, trying to figure out what to do, the eyes on the skull emblem lit and a beam fired out, striking Aruki. She screamed and spasmed, then turned to diamond herself. The skull seemed to start laughing, and Link saw all the diamond statues slowly start to move and walk towards him. Even Aruki's petrified form did this. Link then noticed all the statues were girls and wearing similar clothes, so they must have been previous Gerudo who came here. Considering what he had seen, Link figured the women were cursed once they got here and killed the men that brought them here.

"Well, I'm not going to be another pile of bones." Link said to himself. The statues at first moved as fast as Redeads, but the got quicker. None were unarmed at all attacked with their weapons. Diamond-Aruki activated her gauntlet's blue power and tried to freeze Link, but his shield deflected the attack. His deku nuts did nothing to them, and he didn't want to risk damaging them with swords and bombs if they could be cured. So all he could do was defend himself. Link noticed that the skull emblem kept laughing and he figured it must have some connection to the statues.

Link threw a bomb at the painting. With it being centuries old, it had faded somewhat so it took more damage than it normally would have. The wall crumbled, the emblem vanished and went silent, and the diamond statues froze in place. From behind the wall came a sudden gush of water that threatened to fill up the room and drown him. However, an opening appeared in the floor before the room was halfway flooded and sucked up all the water along with Link and the diamond statues.

Link blacked out for a moment and next found himself on some kind of rotting pirate ship in a cave underground. It looked long abandoned and as if it had been thru a bad storm or a giant whirlpool. Soon two Stalfos wearing pirate coats and hats brandishing swords jumped into view and challenged Link. Having faced Stalfos pairs before, Link finished them off quickly. But when they went down, their bones jumped into the water pooling around the ship and vanished. Then the water bubbled, like something had jump been awakened underneath.

From out of the water rose hundreds of pirate-dressed Stalfos, armed with many weapons. And they started slowly walking towards the ship. Link did not like the looks of this. Wondering how he could fight an entire army by himself, he happened to stand on the wrong spot of rotten wood and fell into the ship's interior. There he saw some cannons and ammo, some chairs and mugs and barrels, and right next to him a long slender box. Curious, he opened it up and found an arrow with an orange glow around the arrowhead. Hoping it would be useful, he placed it in his quiver and felt the elemental magic embed itself into the quiver. Link saw a ladder that still looked sound and climbed up.

Link saw that the walking skeletons were only a little closer. Maybe moving thru the water and sand slowed them down. Link decided to see what his new arrow could do and fired it at a random Stalfos. The reaction shocked him and his target. Literally. The hit skeleton spasmed and convulsed as several watts of electricity surged thru it before it turned to dust in the water. Link smiled, grabbed another arrow, charged it with magic, and fired at the water itself. All the Stalfos were affected and disintegrated in less than three seconds. Then Link's vision was blocked out by blue light and he couldn't feel anything around him.

When Link could see again, he found he was on the shore of the island by the ship that brought him and Aruki there. He then saw the Gerudo reappear next to him, fully flesh again, as did the other girls who were turned to diamond statues. Once they saw they were cured, they cheered for Link and threw him into the air several times. When the stopped, they saw that a large treasure chest that looked like parts of it were made of bone had appeared in the sand. Aruki confirmed it was the Dead Woman's Chest, then she and the rest put it into the armored boat. While it was small by ship standards, it was capable of holding Link and thirteen Gerudo, so all left the island to return home.

The trip back to the Gerudo fortress took them about as much time as it did to get to the island. By Link's count, that meant he now had forty days left. He and the rescued Gerudo docked, avoided the thing in the clouds, and brought the Dead Woman's Chest to the captain. She thanked Link by granting him Gerudo membership, just like he had gotten back in Hyrule, and was given the antidote to Aruki's venom along with Tatl. Several of the women asked him to stay with them and be their boyfriend, but he declined, saying he had work to do elsewhere. He felt bringing up Romani around them wasn't a good idea.

Before he left, he was there when the captain opened the chest he brought to them. "Now, let's see what this great treasure of ours is." The captain eagerly said as she rubbed her hands together. She opened the lock with an old key the Gerudo's had and lifted the lid, then gasped in shock.

"What is it?" One of the guards curiously asked.

The captain reached inside and pulled out a single yellow-aged piece of paper. "'The joke's on ye treasure hunter. We Pirations have the last laugh. Har har har.'" She angrily read out loud. She then crumbled up the letter. "DAMMIT!"

_Next chapter will be posted when this fic has 42 reviews total. Then begins the Romani arc._


	35. Labyrinth 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Five: Labyrinth--Enter the Dungeon

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_10 weeks to break curse_

_This chapter begins right after Ch. 30 and occurs at the same time as Ch. 32_

When Romani felt something grab her leg by her ankle, she instinctively swung her sword at it. She felt the grip slacken and looked down, but all she saw was a large yellow insect-like leg with a pincer-like claw. The body it should have been attached to was nowhere to be seen. The ranch girl was immediately on her guard since an obviously large bug just vanished into thin air.

Tael was still pointing out potential threats that neither could see. Right now Romani wished she had her own lens of truth. When she took a few steps back away from where she had been grabbed, she felt another thing try to grab her ankles from behind her. She swung her sword and turned around. She couldn't see her target, but she did see the dirt behind her shuffle and settle.

Instantly getting an idea, Romani pulled out a bomb and dropped it where she was standing. She then quickly ran back to the place she entered the flat lands from and saw the explosion. She heard several high-pitched shrieks in the blast and when the smoke cleared, she saw several holes in random areas. From those holes arose yellow tekites.

Tael seemed less than pleased. "Those are Trapdoor Tekites. They hide underground and snatch unsuspecting passerby. They're all over the area... or should I say under the area?"

"They're just bugs. You just step on them or swat them. Nothing to worry about." She told the under-confident fairy. Sometimes she was surprised Tatl and Tael were related. Romani quickly threw another bomb at the irritated tekites, who couldn't survive the second blast. She figured there were plenty more in the area, but didn't want to waste bombs that would be difficult to acquire more of outside the mountains and Clocktown. So she pull her goron mask on and swiftly rolled thru the area. The trapdoor tekites weren't able to grab her as she moved thru.

When she stopped, Tael was glad to say that the surrounding area had no sensable threats in it. They were still in the flat lands between the mountains and the canyon, and it looked like they had headed further east . It wasn't where they wanted to go, but they would just have to deal with it. They decided that they had to immediately search for familiar ground or at least some sort of oasis.

The trip to find such a place took several days, and by then Romani had run out of water. Even though there was barely any direct sunlight in the sky now, Ikana and it's border was an arid area. Luckily they found a pocket forest with a small spring, and Romani half-believed it was a gift from the goddesses. She and her fairy partner immediately took a long drink then refilled their canteens, then took a bath. It had been quite a while since she last cleaned herself and didn't like how her skin felt. Afterwards she ate some of the berries growing in the bushes and hunted for two guays which she cooked.

The next day Romani decided to follow the small trickle of water that flowed from the spring to some unknown location. The weirdest thing was that the area around the trickle looked like it was a canal that had been dug there but most of the water had dried up eons ago. Probably because the spring was pretty low when she got there, like it was nearly dried up itself. But if it was a canal, then there had to be a settlement of some sort nearby.

The dry canal led to what could only be described as a ghost town. Most buildings were made out of stone and they looked half-buried in the sand. Few of them were in good shape, but most were enterable. Romani had a feeling this might have been an earlier Terminan settlement, where people lived before Clocktown was founded. Curiosity got the better of the young ranch girl and she walked thru the ruins. It was a shame that she couldn't read the ancient runes on a stone pillar that read "The dead now claim this land and will challenge the living if they catch them here."

Thanks to the passing of time and her own naivety, it was impossible for Romani to determine what places were what by sight alone, but she sensed a similar structure to Clocktown. In fact, in the center was a large sundial with the foundation for a tower just south of it. There appeared to be no outer wall surrounding the town, but maybe it had been eroded away. In the north end she discovered a flat area surrounded by old houses and filled with several dead trees and one faded statue resembling a great fairy. An area there looked dug out with ropes outlining it with modern tools still in somewhat good condition. Maybe some archeaologists had been there not too long ago or still were there.

Romani stopped looking around when she could have sworn she heard a whistle behind her. Turning around, she saw a poe. Thinking little of the intruder, she pulled out an arrow and got ready to fre. but before she did, and whirlwind of sand instantly formed around her and blinded her. It also felt like the sand was rather sharp, but that was probably more from the wind than anything else. Before she could do anything, she felt the ground beneath her simply disappear and she started falling.

When she landed, Romani saw she was in some kind of dungeon-like room without any windows. A few torch's on the walls lit without cause and lit the area better. Tael, who had kept close to the ranch girl, took cover under her shield. Two pillars of flames appeared and disappeared all in an instant. Where they were now stood two men, one in a black tunic, the other in a white tunic. The one with the black tunic wore a mask that only covered the left side of his face, the top half was red and the bottom half was green. The one in the white tunic wore a similar blue-and-purple mask that only covered the right side of his face. Romani saw each had one skeleton foot and one flesh foot, the bony one matching their masked side of their face, and when they uncrossed their arms, the same thing was true of their arms. They both looked like mirror versions of half-dead half-alive people.

"Welcome newcomer to our test." The black tunic wearer said in a gentle soothing voice.

"Already we have a new one. This must be our lucky week, don't you agree?" The white tunic wearer said in a gruffer abrasive voice.

"Let me guess: I don't have a choice about this, and you don't expect me to get out of here alive am I right?" Romani started off.

Both greeters nodded. "Correct. However, if you by chance do make it out, the surface world is your reward. Along with one of our great treasures." The black tunic wearer replied. "Allow us to introduce us. I am Jackal, and my partner here is Vulture. We are scavenger ghouls and this is our lair. You've been brought here by our undead allies to be challenged as is custom for the trespassers of the deadlands."

"What do I have to do?" Romani asked fiercely, expecting battle.

A door opened behind Jackal and Vulture. "Why, simply find the way out. Of course, you won't be the only thing in there. There are plenty of beasts in there, both undead and not. And even we might pop up and make things tougher. Your only help being what's on your person. Now have fun girlie." Vulture answered her.

"Say, since we told you our names, the polite thing to do would be to tell us yours." Jackal commented, refolding his arms.

Romani pulled out her bronze sword and brandished it in front of her. "Sorry, but I make it a point that my enemies don't know too much about me." Vulture snapped his fingers and the door closed. Romani irritably sighed. "Fine. My name is Romani Romani, and I was trained by the best. I won't fail your test." She noticed that for a brief moment the ghouls looked surprised by her name. "I know it sounds weird but I'm proud of it. My parents wouldn't give me a stupid name."

Jackal smirked. "You, little girl, just might make things interesting. Best of luck." He finished in a mocking tone. Both ghouls disappeared in flames like when the arrived, and the door reopened. With little other option, Romani entered, followed by a cautious Tael.

The first thing they saw was a long corridor made of stone. Once she was inside the door she used to enter closed. This didn't bother her since she figured the way out definitely wasn't that direction anyway. So she just kept going forward. After about eight steps, the corridor branched into three more hallways, going left, right, and straight.

"Looks like we're in some kind of maze." Tael thought outloud.

"No surprise they wouldn't make this easy." Romani added. Not sure where to go, she put her sword on it's tip and let go. It fell pointing forward, so she decided that was the best direction to go. She started feeling someone or something was watching her, and was on her guard with her sword still unsheathed.

_Next chapter will be posted when this fic has 46 reviews total.__ And as for Romani's name, I always figured that ranches were named after the family's that owned them, so her full name would be Romani Romani. This means that Cremia is Cremia Romani and Malon is Malon Lonlon. Link has no last name due to his Kokiri past and while Hylians and Terminans have last names in my story, Kokiri don't. _


	36. Labyrinth 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

_Over 9,000 hits. This is now officially my most popular fic to date._

Chapter Thirty-Six: Labyrinth--The Poe and the Darkness

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_??? to break curse_

Time seemed to have no meaning as Romani wandered in the underground maze. Without the sun, it was impossible to tell the passing of time, and she never got hungry, thirsty, or sleepy. She might have been down there for mere moments, or maybe even several days or weeks. In that time, she had run into some skultulas, flying skulls, a couple of stalfos, and plenty of Redeads. There also were some normal skeletons, some in one piece but most weren't, scattered around randomly. Most likely previous victims who didn't have her advantages. Tael was nervous and he was getting a little claustrophobic, but there was nothing to do except look for the way out.

The worse part was that there were no identifying features in the maze. Sure there were some heiroglyphics, but none were readable to either of them and there were no paintings on the walls either. All the discarded skeletons looked alike and hallways just kept turning at right angles.

"Maybe there is no way out of here. We're trapped forever. We're going to die!" Tael said, coming close to having a panic attack.

"Calm down." Romani told the fairy as she pulled him in for a comforting hug, something Cremia used to do for her when she had nightmares as a young kid. "We will get out of here, even if I have to kick those half-bone guy's asses for it." Tael didn't respond, but he at least stopped shivering so much and hyperventilating.

"How can you not be afraid?" Tael asked.

"Who said Romani isn't?" Romani responded, surprising her companion. "Romani's not naive. I know we're in danger and things don't look good for us. But panicking won't do us any good. Besides, do you think Link was never afraid in his travels?"

Tael was momentarily speechless. "That boy... afraid? The guy who as a 10 year-old fought to stop the moon and evil mask? What could he possibly be afraid of?"

Romani continued walking as they discussed this, following whatever path her instincts told her to. "Lonliness, for one. Oh, and don't tell anyone else this, but Link's afraid of... well..." She motioned for the fairy to come closer, then she whispered something in his ear.

Tael jolted back in surprise. "Really?" Romani nodded. "Wow. Who would have thought? And how would you know that?"

Romani smiled warmly. "No one knows Link better than Romani. No one."

They kept walking until they entered a large room that had a river flowing thru the center of it. Romani saw it was deep and the current was swift. So she got near the head of it, put on her deku mask, and hopped across before the water carried her to the other wall where it disappeared under the stones. Romani didn't think it would flow anywhere she wanted to go. She removed the mask and kept wandering the halls. After a few more twists and turns, and some skulltula ambushes, she entered another room that had a way ot near the top of the wall. Much too high to reach by herself and she had no hookshot. Tael pointed out several stone pillars of various heights and Romani got out her goron mask. Using a goron's strength, she positioned all the pillars strategically so they formed a staircase to the exit. She removed the mask and climbed up, even though it was still difficult, and made it out and onto the second level up of the underground labyrinth.

Eventually, Romani and Tael came across a room that was completely flooded with water, and the exit was halfway underwater. Wishing for a zora mask, Romani had to settle for swimming towards the opening in her normal form, grateful for all the swimming lessns Link gave her years ago. Romani failed to notice the underwater hand until it had already grabbed her and thrown her away from the exit. After she recovered, she used an ice arrow to give her a place to stand, and then a regular arrow to shoot the hand, which promptly died. Then she took a deep breath, got back in the water, and swam out.

Romani's lungs burned before she got the chance to take another breath. Luckily the hallway opened up in a dry room, where she got out of the water and dried off. Sitting down to take a breath, Romani saw something move in the shadows. She got defensive and her hand on her sword. The newcomer revealed itself to be a young man about Kafei's age, wearing ragged earth-toned clothes and looking unwell. He had dark rings under his eyes and walked with a hunched posture.

"Who... 'cough'... who are you?" The sickly man asked her drearily.

Romani took her hand off her sword. "I'm just a girl who was trying to find someone and I got brought here by some ghouls. What about you?"

"My name... is Chigg. I was... 'cough cough'... part of an archaeologist team trying... to find artifacts in the Ikana area. 'Cough'. We found an old ghost town with a large... sundial, and then a poe ambushed us and... next thing... 'cough'... I was here. Two skeletons told me I'd find my crewmates here and the way out." The man then slumped down, looking out of breath and stamina. "I don't know how long I've been here. 'Cough cough cough'."

"You really need a doctor." Tael said.

Chigg just looked back. "Something about this place doesn't agree with me. If... 'cough'... if I could just get some fresh air, sunlight, and maybe medicine, I'd be fine."

Romani pulled out a bottle with a healing fairy inside. "Will this work?"

Tael shook his head. "No. Those only heal injuries and recover energy to a point. They won't cure ailments or diseases." With that Romani pocketed the jar.

Romani then put on the goron mask and picked up Chigg and placed him on her back. He tried telling her to not bother, just leave him, but she said that went against everything Link had taught her. Romani was glad to have that mask, as it would have been much harder to do this in her normal form. As she walked, she remembered when Link told her he had to carry a zora princess on his head to get her out of trouble, and giggled at the similarity here. She wondered if Chigg wasn't bothered by her transformation into a goron or he was too out of it to really notice. Eitherway, he just slept thru her carrying him around.

Romani kept wandering the maze for what could have been days, all without ever getting hungry or sleepy. She did get tired often and Tael was really starting to get claustrophobic. Sometimes they had to backtrack because they reached a dead end or a way they couldn't carry Chigg thru. Occasionally the sickly man woke, but he didn't wander off on his own and he barely said anything. Usually he just coughed and slept, requiring Romani to keep her goron mask on to move him.

After destroying a beamos sometime later, a door opened and they all went inside. They entered a room with a higher roof then the rest of the maze, with lit torches on the walls but no doorways out. As soon as they were inside, the door they used to enter closed and Tael sensed something was amiss. Romani placed Chigg down, took off her mask, and got ready to fight.

Some smoke formed in the air, and a poe appeared from within it. Romani recognized it as the one that brought her here in the first place. The poe spun it's lantern around, and all the fire from the torches was pulled towards it like a magnet. The poe absorbed the flames and grew into a big poe, and the room darkened to where Romani could barely see. The big poe laughed diabolically and vanished. Romani pulled out her sword and shield, trying to sense in all directions. Tael hung close by, his glow being her only light source.

The big poe reappeared and attacked Romani, who was unable to see it in time. She took the hit, it laughed, and disappeared again, making any counterattack pointless. "Tael, can you point out the torches?" The ranch girl whispered. "If I could relight them then I could fight back."

"But what if it just takes the fire and gets bigger?" The fairy countered.

Romani quietly cursed at that. She heard the big poe chuckle and prepare for another ambush. She turned towards where she heard the noise and saw a soft glow that wasn't Tael. She figured that had to be the ghost's lantern. When it got close enough, she swung her sword at it. She felt it make a connection, but it didn't respond as hurt as she had hoped. It vanished, and she waited for it to return.

"Don't aim directly for the glow." Tael whispered to her. "That's just the lantern. Aim for the area around the glow to hit the enemy." Romani nodded.

The big poe reappeared and reattacked. Romani was glad that poes were so open when they did such things instead of doing it subtly like a smart ambusher. Each time she would listen for the laugh or spin then look for the lantern, and then strike just right of the glow, hitting her target each time. With it being a big poe, it took more hits then most to die completely, but Romani won and it did die and it's remains escaped from her. Not that she had any interest in capturing a ghost.

The room didn't immediately relight, so she used fire arrows to illuminate the room. Once she did, she saw there was a platform that moved up and down one wall and would take someone to the next level up. She went to grab Chigg and take him with her, but when she looked where she had left the sickly man, she was shocked to find he had disappeared.

_Next chapter will be posted when this fic has 50 reviews total._


	37. Labyrinth 3

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Labyrinth--Fight of the Living Dead

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_??? to break curse_

_It looks like now I don't have to insist on getting reviews anymore. To show my gratitude, until I get 60 reviews (no obligation to reach that number soon now) whoever does review can ask me any question about this fic and I will privately answer it for you. Any question, even ones regarding the future of this story, except when concerning something I'd prefer to keep a mystery for plot line purposes._

Romani wondered just what had happened to Chigg. Best she could think of was that when she had been fighting the poe something had taken him away. She figured if she kept wandering the maze, she'd find him again and help him get out. She really hoped that he hadn't gone back where she had found him. It would have been nearly impossible to get back there, considering this place didn't come with a map or compass.

Romani continued on thru the twisted stone hallways never sure exactly where she was going. More random but nonlethal creatures tried to hurt her, but she wiped them all out. Occasionally she called out Chigg's name. She never got a response. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear she and Tael were the only things alive here.

Eventually Romani found herself in a large room that looked almost like a tomb interior. Pillars were carved into the side walls of the room, two pillar stumps were in the center of the room, and a large locked door was on the wall opposite her. She smiled, hoping she had finally found the exit. She stepped forward, and two flames instantly appeared on the two pillar stumps. When the flames died, she saw Jackal and Vulture stand before her, arms crossed and faces grinning.

"Well, you've surprised us, little girl." Vulture stated. "Not many reach this point alive. Feel proud, for you're almost out."

Romani frowned. "But you're not going to let Romani leave so easily are you?"

"Of course not. Where would the fun be?" Jackal answered. They both unfolded their arms.

"Hope you enjoyed our labyrinth, got you're never leaving it." Vulture proclaimed, before he and Jackal pulled out and conjured up a small flame each then vanishing. Romani got her sword and shield ready.

The two flames grew and took shape. Then they became two creatures. One looked like a person with a jackal's head and feet with clawed hands, and wore a red and green tunic. The other looked like a person with a vulture's head and feet with clawed hands, and wore a blue and purple tunic. Each wielded a javelin and a bloodthirsty expression, and their flesh appeared to be rotting a little, like they were zombies.

"Heh. Should have seen that coming." Romani told herself.

Tael looked them over and told Romani what he found on them. "The jackal is called Fang and the vulture is called Claw. They're fast, but no stronger than an Iron Knuckle. They'll be hard to hit, but if you do, it won't take too much to kill them."

Claw and Fang swiftly started the match. Tael was right, they were fast. Before Romani knew what to expect, they were behind her and attacked simultaneously. She fell to her knees and they tried to attack again. She swung her sword and it hit Fang, but Claw jumped out of the way. Fang yowled, but didn't lose his balance.

Romani got back onto her feet and struck again. Fang dodged and Claw got behind her again and slashed. She cried out and felt some blood leak out of her body. Romani got into position and put some of her magic into her blade. Her foes came in for another attack, but got too close as Romani unleashed a spinslash attack, hitting and stunning them both.

Her vision was getting blurry and she feared she was loosing a lot of blood. She pulled out a bottle and freed a healing fairy, which did it's job and renewed her body. "These guys keep trying to attack from behind." She muttered. Then she got an idea. The ranch girl cleverly got close to one of the walls, giving them no room to get to behind her.

This bothered the two ghouish fiends. They stood there for a bit, not sure what to do now. Claw got closer but since Romani could see everything it was doing, she was able to strike back without getting hurt. The two creatures backed off , as if trying to figure out a new plan.

"Hmm... I need a way to get rid of both of them without leaving here, soon." Romani thought out loud.

"What about that new arrow of yours? This seems like a good place to try it out." Tael suggested.

Romani was surprised she didn't think of that. In fact, she had yet to do anything with the grey arrow that she gained from beating Twinbino in the mountains. "Why not? It's got to be good for something." Romani commented as she got out her bow and an arrow. When she drew it, the arrowhead glowed a semi-dark gray. She fired it, and apparently her enemies were too confused or arrogant to dodge.

Fang was the one who was hit, and it was an odd sight to hit, the canine-like creature howled and glowed gray too. Then in the next second or two, the entire body turned into stone. It looked like some kind of freakish gargoyle without wings. Romani, Tael, and Claw looked surprised at this result.

"Cool. A Stone Arrow." Romani said, remembering that Twinbino had petrifying powers. Since the Poison Arrow got it's powers from a venomous creature, she should have guess her new elemental arrow would have the same characteristics of who it had killed. 'Wonder what other kind of arrows Romani could get this way.'

She fired another one, but Vulture dodged this one. The avian fiend tried to rush in and slash her eys out, but she put another arrow in her bow and fired at point-blank range. Claw didn't stand a chance, and became the world's ugliest oversized lawn ornament.

"Looks like Romani won." She said to the two maze-keepers, certain they were listening.

Jackal and Vulture reappeared in the same place in the same way, even in the same posture, but they were not grinning this time. "You take us too lightly, girl."

"Same to you." She replied playfully, twirling her sword. Still, she knew not to take an enemy lightly. That was most of Link's enemies' biggest mistakes when fighting him.

The two half-skeletons then seemed to morph right in front of her. What remained of their flesh looked like it just melted off of them. Their bones then sort of converged and bent their shapes to create a single bone golem. The tunics shredded in the process but their half-masks moved to what could only be called their shoulders now.

Romani didn't really know how to describe this new thing. It looked sort of draconian and devilish at the same time. It had four arms and four legs, giving it a spidery look. The lengthened spine created a tail and the second ribcage formed spikes at the end. The two skulls came out of the collar, one had fangs and the other horns.

Tael shivered. "That's their true form, Despari. Attacking it with a sword won't be a good idea."

Romani soon found out why. Apparently Despari could come apart at the joints and each severed part was mobile and reattached on it's own. The skeleton moved like a dragon and tried to crush the ranch girl with it's hands or tail. She dodged when she could, took a few hits, and couldn't find a weak spot. She tried to hit places where there was no joint, but Despari would still come apart when she tried. Not sure what else to do, Romani fired another stone arrow at her adversary. It hit the tail, but the fiend discarded it before the effect could spread to the rest of it's body.

Romani saw she didn't have enough arrows left to turn the thing completely to stone, so she need a quicker way. Thinking over all the things Link had taught her, she decided on a long shot. She pulled out another arrow, but charged it into a light arrow, and fired it. According to Link, the light arrow was most effective against the undead.

Apparently it worked. The arrow struck the horned skull and it fell off the neck it was attached too. It bounced around but seemed unable to simply reconnect with the body. Romani fired another light arrow and hit the other skull, getting the same result. The body collapsed, and before it could recover, she rushed in and swung her sword down on both skulls. They split in half, then the whole skeleton dissolved into dust. All that was left was their two half-masks.

Romani curiously picked up the two mask pieces. When she held them both, a soft yellow-orange glow emitted from the sides of them. The pieces suddenly rushed towards each other like they were magnetized, escaping her grasp. They came together, and the glow faded away from top to bottom, as if the two were connecting to make one mask. And apparently, that was exactly what had happened. Romani now held a mask with narrow eye slits, no mouth, and a red, green, purple, and blue pattern going clockwise n the face, kind of like a twister spinner.

Romani sat down and sighed, and put the mask away in hammerspace. Right now didn't seem like a good idea to try on the mask, just in case it had some kind of curse on it. Then she saw a ball of light appear before her. Worrying it was some new threat, she got back onto her feet. She was revealed to see it become Chigg, who actually looked healthy now.

"Thanks a lot, Romani. Back when Ikana and Termina were still young lands, this labyrinth was created to house restless undead spirits. Eventually, they started making the living come here too, to toy with them. Any who failed to get out would die and become a ghost, doomed to remain here until someone succeeded." The man explained to her.

"My crew and I were brought here last year. None of us survived. Yes, the whole time I had been a ghost. Thanks to you, we all can leave this accursed place and go rest in peace. By the way, defeating the main guardian of the maze wasn't enough to earn freedom. You also had to try and help a prisoner of the maze get out too. Otherwise, you'd stay trapped whether you won the battle or not." Chigg suddenly grinned brightly. "Luckily, you dragged me thru the maze even though I was dead. That counts. You can truly leave now. I wish you a good life."

Chigg's image vanished and the door opened. Romani and Tael immediately rushed out. They found themselves back on Termina's surface, and judging from the layout of the land, they were still in Ikana. But they were near where Link had found Shiro the invisible soldier long ago so they knew exactly where to go.

Romani twirled around and took a deep breath. "Mmmm... fresh air at last." She then saw several dozen balls of light leave the opening behind her and drift towards the sky. One hung close to her for a bit longer, then ascended too. Romani just knew that had been Chigg's spirit saying good-bye. "Rest in peace, Chigg." The door closed, and Romani headed towards the field, ready to find Link.


	38. Reunited At Last

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Reunited At Last

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_39 days to break curse_

After Link left the Gerudo fortress, his one thought was finding Romani. He had no idea where she was but figured she had to be somewhere away from the ocean. Tatl was glad to be free of that small cage and worried about her brother. She was amazed to see Link had gained another elemental arrow on his journey. According to her, it was called the Thunder arrow and was an old original arrow, like the fire arrow. But unlike the fire arrow, had been lost over time and forgotten. Link was pretty glad to have it in his possession.

Not wanting to risk Epona's safety, Link decided to walk where he needed to go to find Romani. If he had to get somewhere fast he'd just use his goron mask. Rather than go right to the mountains, Link figured it was better to go to Clocktown. From there he could get anywhere he needed and it was likely Romani was searching for him too and might head there too. So he used his zora mask to do a quick swim to the main beach of the bay. But when he got there, he encountered an obstacle he had forgotten about: the wall that separated the beach from the field.

Link cursed, knowing he wouldn't be able to simply get over it on his own. The wall had been built to ensure the Gerudo wouldn't be able to invade Clocktown so unless somebody had a horse they couldn't just get past it. There had to be a way thru since Clocktown got several resources from the sea and several safe-times during the year people would come to the beach on a trip, but Link had never been able to find any door or opening. Maybe the Song of Soaring had made him lazy when it came to getting around. Too bad it wasn't working now.

With only one way back to the field they could possibly think of, albeit a long shot method, Link and Tatl headed for the southern end of the beach. They used the hookshot to climb up the small chasm, the same route they took to get to the beavers home. But instead of going there, they kept going up. It took a little longer than they hoped since a few trees were hard for the hookshot to get a grip on, but they got to the top and saw that the eastern side connected with the forest that separated the field from the swamp. The slope was steep so getting down would be potentially dangerous. Luckily with the gorons mask, it was simply reckless but not dangerous.

After a steep roll Link reached flat ground and removed the mask. He walked north thru the woods but reached what was left of Romani Ranch instead of the field. He was hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia and sorrow and had to pause for a moment, looking over the place that had become his home over four years ago. He saw no signs of Kafei or Anju and wondered where they were, and was especially worried where Epona was. He tried calling her with her song but she didn't appear, making him really upset and worried. When done looking and wanting to continue his job, he turned onto Milk Road and got to the field in no time.

Link noticed the herd of scowlets wandering lazily about the southern end of the field, possibly bored or restless. They didn't notice him so they didn't charge at him. Not wanting to take chances Link slipped on the stone mask. Sure, he probably could have handled fighting them all, but they were in a herd so they had a numbers advantage. While walking Link noticed that he couldn't find that annoying bird that kept trying to take his stuff. The sight of a few bones and feathers on the ground was more than enough to tell him why it wasn't bothering him now.

Link got to Clocktown as the sun was setting two days after he left the Gerudo fortress, and it looked just like it did the last time he was there. After all, it's not like anyone really had a chance to return after Obsidia and the thing in the clouds had attacked. Even though they had moved on to the bay, nobody was coming back until the sky was clear again. Little did Link know that someone had returned shortly.

Link started searching the southern end of town to see if Romani was there already. If not he'd work his was thru the city. Tatl kept an eye out for Tael more. They didn't bother digging thru any rubble since the ones they wanted to find surely weren't buried anywhere. While they looked they noticed that there were no dead bodies lying anywhere. After the attack by something with that many claws and mouths one would assume there would be some kind of remains left behind. Apparently whatever that thing is, it devours everything flesh and blood, except Link, Romani, and Obsidia, and leaves nothing behind.

Around midnight Link got tired and stopped to rest by the clock tower, but sleep didn't come easy at first. Tatl was out like a light conversely, and eventually Link joined her. He opened his eyes lightly when he thought he heard a noise, and saw a moving silhouette. He couldn't make them out in the dark and while still tired, but it was likely that this person wasn't Romani and was too close to Link for his own liking. So the Hylian boy swatted his arm to drive them off. It worked, but they took Link's hookshot with them. Link felt it missing from his hip and got to his feet to chase them down.

Link wasn't in the best condition to challenge someone now. He tried throwing some deku nuts to stop the thief but missed each time. The thief wasn't that agile or quick but still no luck hitting them. Link shouted at them to stop but it was futile. That is, until another person showed up before the thief left town thru the east gate. The third person saw the chase and pulled something out and hit the legs of the thief, who tripped, dropped the hookshot, but got up and ran off without it. The third person person picked up the hookshot but simply stared at it.

"Give that to me. It's mine." Link demanded, more awake now.

The newcomer came closer and handed it to him. "Sure Grasshopper. Here you go."

Link gasped. "Ro... Romani?"

Tael came out of hiding, and with his glow Link could now see the redheaded ranch girl. Tatl hadn't been hiding so she could see Link from the beginning, once he got close enough. She immediately pulled him into a hug which he quickly returned. "Romani missed you so much, Grasshopper."

"I missed you too Ladybug." Link couldn't remember the last time he felt this relieved. "Where were you?"

"Well, after the mountains I ran into some underground spiders then fell into an underground maze filled with dead people. Is Romani some kind of ghost magnet or something? I was there for days not needing food or water or sleep then I fought some zombies and freed some ghosts and came out by the canyon. Where were you?"

"After the mountain I got to the ocean. The Gerudo found me and told me they wanted to use me for something since I could go outside. They gave me some kind of poison only they could cure so I had to do it. They made me sail to a far away island for some lost treasure and I fought many skeletons there and got a new arrow. When I returned it turned out somebody had already taken the treasure. I left after being cured and came here."

"Really? A new arrow? What kind?" Romani asked. Archery had always been one of the more interesting lessons he gave her.

Link pulled out an orange arrow. "It's called a Thunder Arrow and it electrocutes its target, like they were struck by lightning."

"Neat. Romani's got one too." Romani then pulled out her gray arrow. "I call it the Stone Arrow. Whatever it hits turns to stone. Wanna trade?"

The two exchanged the arrows and placed them in their quivers. Shortly the magic in both would embed itself in the quivers giving them both new arrows, thus six elemental arrows total. "We should head towards the sea soon. We don't have much time left to uncurse ourselves." Link stated.

Romani yawned. "Could we do that in the morning? I'm tired."

"Sure thing." Link told her. Since they were in the eastern part of town, they headed into the empty Stock Pot Inn and settled into a random room, sharing a bed and holding the other closer to them as the two fairies rested at the foot of the bed.


	39. Great Bay 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Great Bay Part One

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_37 days to break curse_

If getting from the bay to Clocktown with a wall in the way and no horse wasn't tough enough for Link, going the way in reverse was going to be just as difficult if not more. Whoever built that wall knew what they were doing. Link and Romani checked every inch of it, but any sign of a way thru was invisible to them, even with the lens of truth.

"Dammit. I know people can get to and from the bay. Why can't we figure this out?" Link fumed.

"Maybe we should just call Epona." Romani suggested.

Link shook his head. "No good. I already tried. She didn't come, and she's not at the ranch either. By the way, neither were Anju or Kafei."

"You don't think...? Could they have been...?" Romani couldn't bring herself to finish.

"I sure pray not. But we'll know for sure later. Now, how do we get over to the other side?" Link told her. Both stopped to think it over, but no solution immediately came to them. "Well, we could go thru the mountains, but that'll definitely take too long. Maybe going thru the swamp instead is better."

"Well, at least the terrain won't be as bad there, I think." Romani added. "Let's try it."

The two headed south then. They had to fight off the Scowlets again and turned onto Milk Road to avoid too many. They were running low on arrows at the time. Naturally they ended up at Romani Ranch, and Romani was the one struck with an uneasy sense of nostalgia. Seeing her home look so deserted after some time away, and knowing why it all happened, made a tear come to her eye. They stopped for some time to make some new arrows and ended up staying the night.

That night, the two teens laid under the stars on the grass, ignoring the small lean-to they had forged when the house collapsed in the ghost invasion. The small building was barely standing anymore, having been constructed in a hurry by amateurs. Tatl and Tael were asleep by 10:00, but the two humans were awake still then. Neither knew what to say to the other.

"Say, Grasshopper," Romani started. "You were already at the bay right?" He nodded. "And that's where Obsidia is, right?" He nodded again. "So, why didn't you already fight her while you were there? It's not like you needed Romani to defeat whatever monster she has there."

"Well, I wanted to make sure you were safe first. I don't think I would have been able to fight as well if I was wondering where you were." Link answered. "Besides, you were upset the last time I did that."

"Thanks, I guess." She replied. "I gotta admit I was worried about you too when we were apart. I knew you were OK, but I still wanted to see you."

"Same here. I never stopped thinking about you while I was at the bay. Even with all those Gerudo around."

Romani blushed. Link had been surrounded by several women with admirable figures for some time and still only thought of her? He was definitely the guy for her, and now she felt more sure that he felt the same way. All she wanted was for him to say it out loud.

Link smiled then yawned. "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrows going to get tough." Both fell contently asleep in minutes.

The next day they went south thru the surrounding forest and reached the peak that separated the swamp from the bay. This mountain had two rivers, one that fed into the swamp and another that fed into the sea. The latter was the one who was home to the beavers and carved a small chasm going northward in the rock. This might have been a bigger obstacle than the wall might have been, but at least they had an idea about how to get thru it.

Link and Romani saw that the slope up the mountain was pretty steep. Too steep to just walk up. They both put on their goron masks and tried to roll up the side. Apparently it was still too steep. Link took off his mask and looked at the shape of the slope. There were no footholds or trees so the hookshot wouldn't be of any help. "Looks like we're going to have to look some more for a way up." Romani took off her mask and nodded.

The two went south and got to where the forest and swamp practically blended. Here there was a breathtaking site. There was a waterfall coming down the mountainside that pooled into a moderate-sized lake that fed several small brookes leading into the swamp. The waterfall looked like it had carved a staircase formation into the rock, providing plenty of footholds, and deku flowers were abundant. Their deku forms should have no problem getting up the mountain here.

There just seemed to be one problem with the surrounding area: it was full of dozens and dozens of larger-than-normal blue slugs. They didn't appear dangerous, but Link knew this was going to be rough for Romani. The redhead found slugs disgusting and always avoided them. She wasn't afraid of them, they just bothered her, like how Link tried to avoid bees.

"Aw man. Why did we have to come to Slug Central?" Romani moaned with disgust.

"Don't worry. We just need to get to the flowers and we'll be out of here as quick as we got here." Link told her. They both put on the deku masks and went to the flower closest to the mountainside. While they walked they tried to avoid stepping on any of the gastropods. Link heard some kind of buzzing sound and kept looking around the area for the source. Whatever it was, it seemed all over the place but wasn't doing anything.

Romani was more cautious about where her feet were as opposed to some buzz. When trying to take too large a step she lost her balance and fell onto the grass. She bolted upright but saw that several slugs had already slimed their way onto her body. "Augh! Get them off! Get them off!" Romani panicked and tried brushing them off quickly. Many fell but some had gotten a good hold on her and barely budged. She did a deku spin to try and remove them. Link noticed the commotion and assisted her. As they did this the buzzing got louder and more agitated.

From out of the trees came some of the most unusual insects Link had ever seen. They looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a centipede and each was about as big as a small lobster. They came at the two current-dekus and latched on like parasites, biting and clawing at them. The fact that their bodies were plant instead of flesh did nothing to deter them. Tatl and Tael hid in Link's hat, and Link and Romani raised their shield and spun around to keep the bugs away as best they could until they got to the flower. Romani burrowed in first, which removed any clinging bugs, and popped out, soaring to the second level up. The bugs followed her and tried attacking again, making her quickly burrow into the next flower. Link just as quickly followed her but made sure to stay one flower behind.

When they reached the top the bugs stopped their assault and went back down to the pond. Link and Romani saw they were on a smooth platue with a spring that made rivers that went two directions, one to the pond they were just at, and the other northwestward. They went to see where the other river led, and found it connected with the beaver pond. Now they could get to the shore.

The two took off their masks and followed the river downstream. But as they walked, they felt warmer and their vision blurred. They struggled onward despite the two fairys telling them to take a break. But when they got to the waterfall, they lost consciousness and plummeted over, much to the fairys horror.

_Next chapter will come when I have 65 reviews total._


	40. Great Bay 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty: Great Bay Part Two

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_35 days to break curse_

Link had no idea what woke him up or that he had even been asleep in the first place. He also had no idea where he was at the moment. His last memory was looking over some cliff near the ocean, then it was a complete blank. Once he was awake, the first thing he noticed was that he was cold and wet, lying face-down. He slowly sat up and heard some kind of crunching sound underneath him, then saw he had been lying on sand.

"Good. You're awake." He heard Romani say from in front of him. He looked to see her leaning against a tree using a towel to dry herself off. She looked like she just woke up from a coma. "You better dry up too."

Link saw he had a towel on his back so he started drying himself. He noticed it wasn't the one he usually kept with his supplies so he wondered where it had come from. "Any idea what happened?"

"You and her were floating nearby. We tried to get you out of the water." Some girl's voice said. Link turned to see three small zora children standing in the sea. Apparently when Link and Romani fell over the cliff, the river carried them downstream and they washed up onshore at the beach and were found by some zora children. One looked like a girl in an orange dress and the others were boys wearing nothing but blue and black headbands. "Can you walk yet?" Link and Romani struggled to their feet. They wobbled and stood, but felt they couldn't risk making any actual steps. It was bad enough when Tatl and Tael made contact with them and they fell to their knees. "Guess not. Just wait here. As if you had a choice."

"You'll have to excuse my sister here. She's a little... independent." The blue-band zora told them. "We happened to be in the area and saw you float. You looked like you might drown. We got you out and put you there."

The girl zora looked up. "It's coming back!"

All three zoras ducked into the water and swam to the deep end as one mouth-tentacle descended from the sky and tried to eat them. Link and Romani watched it hover over the water but not go into it. It would skim the surface but never fully submerge itself, so the zoras were safe as long as they weren't close to the surface. A claw tentacle came and did go completely underwater, obviously trying to snare them but couldn't catch them. Romani pulled out an arrow and struck the mouth-tentacle, which made it go back up into the clouds along with the clawed one.

The three zora's heads popped out of the water. "It didn't attack you?" The blue-band zora asked in amazement.

"For some reason that thing ignores us." Link answered.

"What is that thing and why is it attacking the bay?" The girl zora asked.

"We don't really know what it is. It's attacking the bay because it wanted us to come here and fight some monster. We kill it and then it'll leave." Romani answered.

"Really? Then where do you have to go?" The black-band zora asked.

"Great Bay Temple." Link and Romani replied together.

The zora children looked at each other after hearing that, then turned back towards the two humans. "That might be tough. The way there is mainly designed for zora travel. Without a boat you can't make it." The blue-band zora told them.

"We have our ways." Link claimed.

"Still, you don't look too well. You should probably have a doctor look at you." The girl zora stated.

"We'll be fine." Romani mumbled as she pulled out a jar and opened it. Out came the healing fairy she had acquired back in the mountains. The fairy worked its magic to make her better than left the area. Link soon did the same with his own saved fairy, making both of them in top shape again.

"Whoa. How'd ya do that?" The girl zora asked.

"Healing fairy." Link answered. "Works better than any potion, as long as you can find one and contain it."

"Don't they suffocate or something?" The blue-band zora asked.

"No, they just enter a sort of hibernation when trapped." Tatl answered. "You look a little young to be out here by yourself. Especially when there's danger around. Why are you here?"

"We got tired of being stuck inside all the time. Two of our brothers snuck out and they..." The blue-band zora started to say, but got teary at the end. The girl zora tried to comfort him and it settled him down.

"They were eaten." The black-band zora finished for them other, his head low and voice mournful. "Mom's going to be really sad."

Link and Romani looked upset at hearing two zora children being eaten. "We'll get rid of the creature. You can count on it."

"But how can you?" The blue-band zora asked.

"We're kind of experts at doing this." Romani answered before pointing at Link. "Him more than me."

"You should get back home where it's safe. Leave this to us." Link told the zora.

The girl zora gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Okay. Good luck." She and her brothers dove back underwater and swam to the zora island.

"Just how are we going to get there if I don't have a mask?" Romani asked Link.

"Well, I could carry you on my back."

"Won't that be too heavy for you to stay afloat?"

Link pulled out his zora mask. "Let's try it." Then he pulled out the hookshot and handed it to her. "Here, just in case you need a quick escape or attack." She accepted it as he put on his mask and changed. He lifted Romani onto his back and got into the water. They found he could swim and keep her able to breathe while riding him, but his speed was reduced by half. This made it easier for many hungry vicious fish and sea creatures to try and attack Link. He was careful about using his electric shield because Romani felt a few painful tingles from it when he used it, so Link mostly tried to outmaneuver his attackers.

They passed by the zora island and the turtle island and continued on towards the temple. Link had a feeling that he wouldn't need to awaken the turtle to get to the shrine, especially since it wasn't surrounded by a swirling storm cloud at the moment. The trip took longer than Link thought since he was moving slower than the turtle had been last time, but at least he stayed in a straight line rather than swimming in circles.

There wasn't a cloud surrounding the temple to keep away intruders, but this time there was something that might have been worse: a whirlpool. Link kept his distance to avoid the suction but couldn't see a way around. Romani aimed the hookshot at the building and fired, gaining a hold and flying towards it. When she landed she saw a lever on the wall and pulled it down. A dockway descended from the walls, providing Link a place to get out of the water and into the building, which he gladly took. When out of water he took off his mask and shook some of the water off.

"Good thinking. Now let's go see where Obsidia is." Link told Romani. She nodded and they went down into the entry chamber for the temple. But after a few steps they heard movement behind them, turned, and saw the dark woman known as Obsidia standing casually right behind them. Her face was impossible to read, but it looked like she was impatient. No doubt because the two teens had been held up for several weeks.

"It is not wise to wander blindly

Into the waters of the west.

For many hidden creeps and scourges

Have made the sea their nest.

One weapon surely is not enough

For a fool to survive their test."

After her little poem Obsidia vanished in a warp trail and went east. Like the previous time Romani felt she had heard that one somewhere before but couldn't place it. Too bad there was no time to think about it since the water outside the temple started to bubble, meaning their enemy was getting ready to strike.

_Next chapter will come when I have 70 reviews total._


	41. Great Bay 3

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-One: Great Bay Part Three

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_35 days to break curse_

As the water bubbled Link and Romani pulled out their long-range weaponry to prepare themselves. Link had faced two water bosses in the past, three if you count the aquatic dodongo from a few years ago, so he knew this was the best way to strike back and taught Romani this. Link even kept his zora mask within reach just in case, and his thunder arrow since it should be most effective against something in water. Part of him believed that arrow would be all he needed to win this fight.

The bubbles stopped and the water rose as something rather large surfaced. What they saw was a gargantuan flat beige shell with thousands of teal specks scattered over it. From the left and right sides emerged four insect-like legs colored like the shell and still mostly in the water. From the back wriggled three octopus-like tentacles. And the front were two crab claws, the right one much bigger than the other, on opposite ends of a purple crab face with four black eyes. The overall size of the creature looked like that of a king dodongo, and it looked like it was climbing something to get out of the water, rather then just float to the surface.

Tatl did a quick analysis of the creature. "This thing is called Cercan, and it's not going to be an easy one to fight. It's shell is harder than most military armor so normal attacks will be useless. It's face appears to be it's weak point, but watch out for those claws. They might prove more dangerous than they look."

Cercan opened its large claw as if to prove the fairy right. Almost right away a swarm of needles fired right at Link and Romani like arrows. They barely had time to raise their shields to deflect the attack, so they both took a bit of a hit. Cercan closed the claw instead of attacking again, giving them a brief chance to try and remove some needles. In the meantime, the other claw extended beyond what its normal reach should be and grabbed ahold of Romani, who winced in pain from the pinch. Link swung his sword which made the claw withdraw.

Link got out his bow and readied his thunder arrow. Cercan placed his giant claw defensively in front, but Link figured it wouldn't do it any good and fired anyway. The arrow made contact and a jolt of electricity was seen on the claw, but it died out. Link gasped, then shook his head and re-aimed at the water around the legs, thinking this would be more effective. The small claw extended again and prevented him from firing by unbalancing him. And in the process it snapped the string on his bow, causing Link to curse.

The three tentacles snapped forward like scorpion tails to flatten them both but missed. Romani managed to cut one with her sword while Link stabbed another with his discarded arrow. For some reason he couldn't give it an elemental charge unless it was in the bow so now it was an ordinary arrow. Either way both damaged the tentacles and got their shields up when the giant claw opened up again and fired more needles. After that another tentacle lash caused Link to fall into the sea while Romani bumped against the wall of the entryway.

When underwater Link saw the humongus crustacean was standing atop a submerged part of the Great Bay Temple. With the way its legs were twitching Link figured the creature didn't have that good a grip on the foundation and its wide bulk was what kept it from falling off. Link felt if he could make it fall off then once it was completely underwater Romani could use a thunder arrow and finish it off. So he put on his zora mask, transformed, and got ready to do some damage.

Apparently it wasn't going to be that easy. Either Cercan had help or it was an odd coincidence, but something was in the water with Link. They looked like shrimp at first but were the size of barracudas, and when one got a close look they could see these things had heads like a piranha. Link didn't have time to count them but there must have been about three dozen of the things. And all of them looked hungry for zora meat.

Link activated his electric shield to keep the piranha-shrimps away from him. It worked, but it only dazed them, not kill them. While they were stunned he swam and used his barrier and fins to strike the left legs of Cercan. The giant crab lost his footing and swayed like a boat ready to capsize. For a moment Link feared the giant thing would fall on him and crush him, and hightailed it out of there to the surface.

Romani meanwhile saw the crab stagger when it had been trying to use its small claw to hold her in place. She was confused at this sight but knew she could take advantage of this. Cercan had to use its tentacles and claws to steady itself and regain its grip on the foundation. She readied her bow but didn't charge it with magic, feeling a little low on power at the moment, and fired. It hit the second eye from the right making the crustacean yell in pain.

Link heard the yell and hoped Romani was alright. He was relieved when he saw her smiling and ready to strike again. However, Cercan had enough of a foothold again to use its large claw to defend its face. "Romani, I've got an idea. Just get ready to attack again." He yelled, and she nodded before he resubmerged. Link had to use the barrier again to get rid of more piranha-shrimp then attack Cercan's right legs. Like last time the creature lost its balance and left its face open. Romani made use of the situation and threw a bomb instead of an arrow. Lucky for her this did a lot more damage.

After the bomb Cercan lost its footing completely and fell flat down on the foundation, its claws and tentacles dangling and twitching. Romani charged at it and slashed at its face with her sword. Luckily it was in water shallow enough for her to stand and fight. She tore into it like Link did when he fought Gohma in the Deku Tree years ago. Cercan tried using its small claw to keep her away, but Link came back and used his zora fins to keep it occupied. The giant crab didn't stand a chance after that and soon died. It fell off the foundation to the ocean bottom as it rotted away, where the piranha-shrimp swiftly began to scavenge it while it lasted.

Link took off his mask, and he and Romani got out of the water. They soon heard the booming voice of the giants, saw a bright blue ball of light appear in front of them, and felt their curse mark burn a little. The giants said "The real threat is hiding," and the light faded to reveal a zora mask, which was immediately claimed by Romani, glad to have her own complete collection of shape-shifting masks. Neither had to look up to confirm the giant cloud was receding, thus allowing the sea dwellers to go outside again.

"The real threat is hiding?" Tael wondered out loud. "What do you suppose that means?"

"Not sure." Link commented.

"We should probably go tell the zoras they're safe now. Bet those kids will be surprised." Romani offered. She then put on her new mask to make the trip back much easier for her. Her zora form looked more like Lulu than Ruto, probably because she was clothed. Romani had the basic head-and-body shape for a female zora, except her scalp was red instead of blue, her fins had red spots on the edges, and her clothes were a light lavender color, probably from mixing the white of her blouse with the purple of her skirt. Link still didn't think zoras were cute, but if he had to call one that, it would be her.

"You look nice." Link told her as he put on his own zora mask. He should have known that in this form her new body would appear more attractive. "C'mon, let's go." She nodded and both swam towards the zora island. Romani found it came as naturally to her as walking did, maybe more natural even. When they got there they took off their masks since Link didn't want to be recognized as Mikau's ghost or something.

Link and Romani were quickly ambushed by the three zora children they had seen at the shore. "You guys are back already? What about the monster?" The girl zora asked.

"We beat it. The cloud thing's gone so you can go outside now." Romani told them cheerfully.

The zora kids thanked them as two more zora girls came into view, one wearing a pink dress and the other wearing a green dress. An adult female zora in a purple dress was with them, and Link instantly recognized her as Lulu. 'So these are her children. They've grown quite a bit since I last saw them.'

"Mommy, these guys say they got rid of the thing that ate Trit and Posedi!" The blue-band zora child told Lulu.

The adult zora looked at Link and Romani in amazement, then with teary eyes. "Really?" They nodded. "Thank you so much. That horrible thing ate two of my sons. I don't know what I can ever do to repay you."

"Don't worry about it for now. We have to leave soon and get it out of the canyon." Link told her.

"I will repay you. I swear I will." Lulu told them while wiping her eyes.

"We'll see you later then, and so sorry for your loss." Romani said before she and Link turned and went back outside and swam to the mainland.

_I think now maybe I can stop demanding reviews, at least for a while. Remember, just because I'm not insisting doesn't mean I don't want any._


	42. Great Bay 4

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Two: Great Bay Part Four

_Link:14 Romani:14_

_35 days to break curse_

When back on the shore Romani took off her new mask but didn't know where to go from there. "Grasshopper, how do we get back to the field with that wall in the way?"

Link took off his own mask before answering her. "Well, we could take the way we did to get here."

Romani arched her eyebrow. "Go up the waterfall? We can't do that."

"Sure we can. We've got a hookshot."

"_You've _got a hookshot. And we can't toss it back and forth over a gorge over and over again. We're sure to drop it sooner or later." Romani countered. "And even if it works, we're going right back to the slug-filled area that way. Romani would rather avoid that."

"Well, we could see if the Gerudo have a route thru the mountains we can use to get to the field." Link offered.

Romani sighed. "Plan A it is then." She'd rather face a swarm of slugs and flying centipedes than the pirates that held her hostage two years ago. At least when you swat bugs they stay down.

The two teens walked down the small river and started using the hookshot to go up the cliffsides. Link would fire first into the trees then would toss Romani the weapon so she could follow. At first it was easy, but soon the gaps got larger and tossing the hookshot had to be done a lot more carefully. One time, they did drop it and it fell into the river. Romani apologized for missing, but Link said it was his fault for having bad aim that time. With no other choice, the two jumped back down into the river to retrieve the weapon.

Apparently the current had swept the hookshot downstream rather than have it land in the riverbed. The two slowly went downstream looking over the sand for any metallic glint. They found some rupees but no weapon, then they reached the ocean again. "Great. It must have gone out to sea." Link mumbled.

"Sorry." Romani sounded so ashamed of herself.

Link patted her shoulder. "Like I said, it's not your fault." He pulled out his zora mask. "Well, let's keep looking." She nodded and both transformed. The two looked over the sea bottom for the chain weapon. Romani was still surprised by her zora form. It felt so weird being able to breathe while underwater and the mobility she had too. She even saw and heard perfectly fine underwater too. And while she wanted to enjoy it, for now she had something important to do.

Link waved his hands thru the sand then felt something hard. He pulled it and found his lost hookshot. "Got it Romani." He yelled out to her.

"Help, Link." She replied.

Link turned around and saw Romani trying to fend off some biting fish. They looked like the same type the marine researcher had in his second tank four years ago, but were black with white horizontal streaks. Romani waved her arms using her fins to keep them away, but when she got rid of one another would move in. She tried using the zora electric shield, but didn't have enough magic in her to generate more than a spark.

Link instantly swam towards her with his own shield up and active. He swam in a circle around her to get rid of all the fish, which decided that they ought to find something else to snack on. Romani instinctively swam for the surface, forgetting she was a zora at the moment, and Link followed. "You okay?"

Romani coughed. "Yeah, just some scratches here and there. Not used to swimming like that, and I'm kinda low on magic."

Link looked towards the zora island. "Why didn't you say so before? They've got magic restoring potions in the zora shops."

"Really? That'll help out a lot."

Link and Romani swam back to the zora island but decided to enter the back way. They got on the land, took off their masks, and entered the doorway to the zora chambers. Link led Romani to the shops and they both bought a green potion for her and two red potions for them both later on. When they left they ran into Lulu and her children who were accompanied with Jappas.

"Oh, hello you two. I thought you left for the canyon." Lulu greeted the two humans.

"We had to stop and get some supplies first. And recover something we lost." Link told her.

Lulu happened to notice the hookshot at the left of his belt. "Where'd you get that?" She asked as she pointed at the weapon.

"What? This?" Link asked as he picked up the tool. "Oh, I got this four years ago for the Gerudo. Why?"

"That's one of our weapons." Jappas explained. "The Gerudo stole some of ours years ago. But it's odd to see someone with one who's not a zora."

'The hookshot is a zora tool?' Link asked himself, staring at one of his most useful weapons. 'Well, that explains why it can work underwater. And it would make sense that zoras would have weapons like the deku and gorons do.' The dekus had branches, nuts, and dart-guns while the gorons had hammers and clubs, but until now he never saw any zora with weaponry, in Termina or Hyrule.

Romani suddenly got an idea. "Say, how much would it cost to get a hookshot?"

"Why would you want another one?" One of Lulu's kids asked.

"Well, having two instead of one will make it easier for two of us to get to the canyon and save the whole country." Romani told the child.

"Allow me to handle that. It's the least I can do." Lulu insisted. She and Jappas then walked off to some different shop. The zora kids stayed with Link and Romani while they told the children about their fight with the giant crab at the temple. The tale actually attracted the attention of several other zoras who stayed and listened. One managed to give Link a string to fix his bow which he did while Romani kept talking. Lulu came back with a hookshot identical to the one Link already had, which was given to Romani. "Hope this helps you on your journey. Again, I can't thank you enough."

"What you did will help us out greatly. Thank you." Romani told the mother zora. "Let's go Link." He nodded and both waved to the zoras and went back outside, ready to leave the ocean. With the second hookshot in their arsenal, climbing up the cliffsides went like a breeze for them, and once they were at the top, it would be a piece of cake to get back to Termina field. But for now, it was getting late and they needed some sleep.


	43. Ikana Canyon 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Three: Ikana Canyon Part One

_Link:14 Romani:14 Do I really need to tell their ages anymore?_

_31 days to break curse_

After a few days of walking thru the forest and field Link and Romani finally reached the entrance to the Ikana region of Termina. Link cursed whoever destroyed the owl statues thus preventing them from making the trips much more quick and convenient. Apparently everything had to be done the hard way. The two had to shield off a few living bombchus as they walked thru the now gravely turf. Link knew there were several fences up ahead, and while not as big an obstacle as a wall, without a horse they would be difficult to pass thru.

While Link could only guess at why there was a wall between the field and shore, he did know why there were fences between the field and badlands. According to some Terminan history books Cremia had him read, Ikana and Termina were once separate nations. Which came first no one really knew, but the most accepted idea among archaeologists was that Termina was a colony of Ikana. Ikana had been more of a militaristic nation than Termina and had once been the iron rule of the land, until a great drought and famine fell on the land turning it into a desert. Since then Ikana had been abandoned and made a region of Termina, usually left alone since little could survive there and the stories that it was inhabited by the undead. Link figured that was probably the biggest reason that the fences still stood rather than having rusted away or something.

Well, obstacles didn't really matter much when Link was on a mission. The only real problem was that there were no spots along the cliffs that the hookshot could anchor to. Link and Romani both tried various area but to no avail. After that they tried simply climbing the fences. Since Link was taller than he had been four years ago he could at least reach the top of the fence without jumping or stretching too much. But there were no footholds. When Link tried to get one Romani used her hands to secure Link's foot and gave him a boost over. Once he was on top of the fence, Link reached down for her. She took his hand and he tried pulling her up. They were too unbalanced this way and he ended up letting go and falling over onto the other side.

"Damn that hurt." Link muttered as he rubbed his sore lower body. "Sorry Romani."

"Romani's got an idea, Link." She said as she grabbed hold of the fence again. "You push me up from your side like I did you." With that, Link stuck his hands thru the bars and supported her feet as she pushed herself over the fence. With Link already on that side he was able to catch her so she didn't have a hard landing. "That wasn't so hard."

"Well, that's not the only obstacle into the canyon." Link told her.

Romani shrugged. "So what if it gets worse? With all we've been thru, especially you, it should be a piece a cake." Link couldn't think of an appropriate response.

The two teens and their fairy partners kept walking thru the dry dirt of the Ikana border. When they came to more fences, one that were a little more rusted than the first one, they repeated their previous fence-hopping strategy each time. The only thing that slowed them down were the occasional guay and living bombchu, but they were easily handled. After a day and a night of walking, they reached the place that connected to the graveyard and where Link found the invisible guard. Link immediately got his hookshot out and was ready to fire it at the dead tree stump on top of the cliff. However, it looked like some parts of the cliff had eroded away over the years and now the tree was basically hanging over the side of the ledge, only half of it's roots were still in the ground now. Looking at it, Link wasn't so sure it would work anymore.

"Might as well give it a try." Link mumbled and fired his hookshot. It made contact and pulled him towards the tree. When he got there he had to move quickly because there was barely any ground to stand on and it looked like the tree was ready to fall out completely with his added weight. Once he was safe he yelled down to Romani. "Be careful. I'm not sure this can take much more."

Romani nodded and readied her own hookshot. It connected, but as it pulled her the tree uprooted completely and the dry dead wood broke open around the arrowhead of the chain. The redheaded girl fell back down onto the ground and the tree fell on top of her legs. She screamed in pain from the impact.

Without any hesitation Link jumped back down to her. His landing stung a little but he ignored it and rushed over to her. He pushed the tree off her and looked over her legs. Her skirt had some tears and lots of dirt on it, and her legs had several scuff marks and open wounds from the rough bark and weight. She was also bleeding but not too badly. Link pulled out the red potion he got at the zora shop and had her drink it. Her wounds quickly healed but something didn't feel right to Romani. Something inside her right leg still ached. When Link tried to help her stand up, the ache increased to a throbbing, blinding pain and she fell back to her knees, which made it worse for her.

Link looked over her leg on more time but saw nothing wrong. When he ran his hand over her skin she hissed in pain more and he felt a bump that wasn't there before. "Dammit. You need a doctor right away, Romani. But where do we find one now?"

Romani winced as she sat up and tried holding back her tears. "Are there any healing fairies around here?"

Link looked around. "If there are, they'd be in the cemetery." He then picked her up bridal style and carried her that direction.

"Sorry about this. Romani wasn't..." The ranch girl started to apologize, but Link silenced her.

"This is not your fault. I should have tried finding a different way up."

"But still, Romani chose to chance it and suffered for it. It's my fault too."

Link sighed. "If only I knew how Kafei got thru Ikana as quick as he did. He wasn't even armed. If we knew that way then maybe you wouldn't be hurt." On their way to the canyon Link thought about asking Kafei about that but he and Anju weren't at the ranch anymore. And since they didn't leave a note he had no idea what happened to them. Link thought about trying to find them to get the info, but even with only a month left to cure themselves he felt he didn't want to risk using so much time on a wild goose chase. He also feared that maybe they had all been eaten by the thing in the clouds, but prayed that they had just moved on to somewhere safe.

Link and Romani got to the graveyard which looked as deserted as always. There weren't even a lot of keese flying around at the moment. And the gravedigger Dampe couldn't be seen. Link walked over to a particularly grassy area, gently put Romani down, and swung his sword around to draw any fairies out. There didn't seem to be any there. "Damn. Guess we have to wait until night and go into one of the graves to get one. Sorry Romani."

The two waited patiently for the sun to set by playing some card games with a deck they kept on them for times like this. Romani's leg never stopped hurting but she at least got used to the pain so it sort of died down for her. When night came Link told her he would be quick, got out his Captain's Hat and went to the stalchilds (or is it stalchildren?). Like before they believed he was their leader and he ordered them to open one of the graves. He entered it and had to fight off a few skultulas and keese but made it to a fairy fountain. He made sure to capture three in case the terrain wasn't any friendly to them later on. Done, he left the grave and went back to where he left Romani.

He dropped his jaw. Tael was still there, lying on the ground looking hurt, but Romani was gone.


	44. Ikana Canyon 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Four: Ikana Canyon Part Two

_29 days to break curse_

Link was furious. There was no way Romani had just walked away. She could barely stand up with her new injury. So if she was gone, then someone or something had come while he was busy and taken her. Whoever it was, was going to pay.

Tatl was immediately at her brother's side. "Tael. Are you hurt? Speak to me."

After she nudged him a few times, Tael fluttered his wings and rose a little off the ground. "Huh? What happened?"

"We found you on the ground and Romani gone. What happened?" Tatl told him.

Tael was still disorientated, so he couldn't reply coherently for a bit. "I... I think... something attacked us. I didn't get a good look at it, but I think it was as big as a man."

"Any idea where it went?" Link asked, figuring this thing took off with Romani.

Tael spun around. "Sorry, no."

"Dammit!" Link all but shouted. Then he heard an actual shout coming from the pathway that the giant stalchild Skull Keeta used when Link met him. The shout sounded feminine so Link figured it had to be Romani, and not wasting any time he ran over there, putting on the bunny hood as he did for more speed.

Link got near the second bend of the path and saw Romani on the ground grasping her leg and grimacing in pain. Somebody stood over her and was holding all the equipment she didn't keep in hammerspace. Tatl and Tael flew over to hit the person but they used Romani's shield to block them. With the fairy's light Link could see that this person was Sakon, the infamous thief who lived in Ikana and made many problems for him and Kafei years ago. Link got out his sword to try and intimidate the man into giving up. Instead, Sakon jumped up the stone wall with all of Romani's stuff and ran off. Link tried following him but he couldn't jump that high. He cursed under his breath and turned back to Romani.

"Are you okay Romani? Did he hurt you or anything?"

Romani winced before she could answer. "No, he just... gave up and grabbed Romani and threw me onto his shoulder. Hurt like hell. I got out a deku nut to stop him and he dropped me when it worked. That hurt even worse. When he recovered he took all of my stuff."

Link pulled out a bottle with a healing fairy. "Let's hope this works." He opened it and the fairy went over her leg. The fairy glowed brighter, then flew off. "Did it do anything?"

Romani moved her leg. "I... I think it did. My leg feels better." Romani tried standing up, and she could with no problem. "It worked. I'm better."

"I wonder what the problem was then." Link thought out loud.

"I think I might know." Tatl stated. "I think that maybe when she got hurt she broke her leg. Potions can heal flesh wounds and diseases, but not broken bones. Only a fairy could fix that problem, and since it worked, that must have been it. The potion basically healed her skin and muscle, but not her leg bone."

"We better go get my stuff back, Link." Romani told her best friend. "He's got all my best weapons and gear. My father's bow, the sword and shield you gave me, and the hookshot." She then patted her clothes to feel for something. "The ocarina you made for me too."

"We outta get going. I know where that guy's heading." Link told her, then looked at the rock wall. "Only problem is getting up."

"Why don't we try what we did to get here in the first place?" Romani asked. Without bothering to reply, Link cupped his hands and she placed her foot there. He boosted her up and she put her other foot on his shoulder, then both, placing her hands on the rock wall to keep from falling over. Link had to stretch but Romani was able to grab the top of the ledge and pull herself up. She tried reaching down for him but her arms were too short, so she pulled out a deku stick which he could grab and she pulled him up with all her strength. "Told ya." She commented as they both sat down in the dust.

"How did I ever do this without you Ladybug?" Link remarked semi-sarcastically.

Romani shrugged with a grin, then stood up. "Let's go get my stuff back." Link nodded and rose to his feet too.

The terrain was uneven and sloped upwards towards the east and the south. Link felt it might actually take them up to where they would have gone had the tree stump not fallen out. They cautiously walked around the cemetery and Link fought off a few angry keese in the area. While they walked they ran across what looked like the ruins of some old Ikana castle or fort. It was in pretty bad shape but it was completely blocking their way. "Great. So, do we try and go around or do we go thru it?" Link asked.

"Knowing you, you'd just go thru it if Romani wasn't here." The ranch girl answered. "So we might as well do that. And if anything happens I'm sure you can handle it."

The two entered the main room of the ruins. The walls were cracked with several signs of erosion, and if there had been any color to the room it had completely faded away now. The roof had a big hole in it but was otherwise fine. In front was them were three dull-green circular doors atop three small sets of stairs. "So what should we do? Try eenie meenie minie mo?" Tael asked, and was surprised when Link did just that.

"Let's see what's behind door number one." Link said after his finger ended up pointing at the far left door. With no objections, the two teens and their fairy partners walked up to the door which opened surprisingly easy. It connected to a large room with virtually no light in there, the one light being from the fairys. Link offered his hand to Romani so they wouldn't separate and she took it. They walked around the room to see if they could find a way out, any way out while the fairys flew by the walls. A couple of thuds coming out of nowhere in multiple directions made them stop in their tracks and the fairys huddle close to them.

Link heard a dry low laugh and got his shield and sword ready. Romani reached into hammerspace for a deku stick and some nuts, and kept her bombs ready if they were needed. Link saw something swing at him so he blocked with his shield. Tatl's glow showed him his assaulter was a stalfos, and it wasn't the only one in the room. Link fought back against the closest one and do it quickly since two more joined the fight. Romani had used deku nuts to stun the ones attacking her so she threw some at his own buying him enough time to slice them all. Those he couldn't get to right away returned to normal and Romani used some more nuts to freeze them, and Link finished them all off. Now there were none left.

Link and Romani stayed back to back with sword and stick ready and Tael floated closeby so they could see, in case anything showed up again. Tatl flew along the walls to find a way out, and found a round door. "Found a door, but it could be the way we came in." Tatl shouted.

"Might as well use it." Romani stated. Both walked over to Tatl and opened the door. They saw direct sunlight and an old path covered with worn out stones leading away. Link and Romani stepped out and saw they were outside the ruins on the side opposite the way they came in.

"Wow. Getting thru an obstacle usually isn't that easy for me." Link commented.

The two walked the old road and soon it came right to a cliff edge. Judging from the old wooden posts there once had been a rope bridge there across the gap that the road connected to. Link looked down and saw he was above the part of the canyon where the exploding creatures that smelled like gunpowder lived. "Are we on the right track?" Romani asked.

Link nodded. "Yep. All we have to do is get down then we'll be right where we were trying to get to in the first place."

"Good. I'm getting tired of all the delays and detours we've had to deal with just to fight some monsters and uncurse ourselves."

The two put on their goron masks and rolled right off the ledge. This way it would hurt a lot less since they couldn't just climb down. The exploding creatures popped up out of the ground but the two just kept rolling where Link was leading them too. Dodging was really difficult and both hit one of the creatures each, and apparently the blast hurt even a goron. But they kept going and reach the Ikana waterfall, which was thankfully outside of the creature's territory.

Link and Romani took off their masks. "Now let's go deal with Sakon."


	45. Ikana Canyon 3

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Five: Ikana Canyon Part Three

_28 days to break curse_

Link led Romani right to where Sakon's hideout was, and it looked like he hadn't left the area yet. Sadly that meant they couldn't open it without the shady thief either and there was no way of knowing when that would be possible at the moment. But since they saw him not so long ago, Link figured that either the thief was on his way there, or much more likely already inside. Eitherway, they would have to wait for him to make a move, and since he had to show up or come out eventually, that hopefully shouldn't be too long.

Apparently it was a longer wait than anticipated. Romani wanted to sleep after waiting half an hour. Link let her and kept watch. After two hours she woke up and Link looked like he could use a little nap himself. She took the watch over for him then, hoping they wouldn't have to continue this routine for long. Luck was on their side as Sakon showed up, walking slowly and carrying a large sack on his back. With better lighting Romani saw he had a grey headband with a strange blue feather above his left ear. She ducked behind the rocks and waited for him to reach the door. While she waited, she woke up Link and put her hand on his mouth so he wouldn't give them away.

Sakon opened the stone door and entered. Link and Romani went in right behind him. Sakon saw them and panicked. "Who the hell are you two brats?"

"You stole my stuff! Give it back and we'll just walk away." Romani demanding, knowing full well it wouldn't be that easy.

Sakon frowned, then placed the bundle on the conveyor belt and stepped on the switch. "You want it? Come and get it." Before either could ambush him, he jumped into a hole in the ceiling that should have been impossible to enter without a hookshot. When he left, the door on the conveyor belt closed, cutting Romani off from her equipment.

"We know what to do here." Tatl said.

Link went for the switch and stepped on it, opening the door to the next room. Romani and Tael entered and saw several blue and red switches and one large grey cube. "What do I do?"

"Push the block onto a blue switch." Tatl yelled to her. "That'll open the next door for me and Link. Avoid stepping on the red ones but yellow ones are okay."

Romani nodded and pushed the block. It was much lighter than she expected it to be, but still too heavy for her to lift off the ground. She heard a mechanism fire and another door opened. Link went into the other hallway and had to fight off some deku babas, then pulled a lever by the door that opened the next door for Romani. The ranch girl went into a room where she had to walk carefully to avoid stepping on red switches. She tried a yellow one and saw it slowed down the conveyor belt. She then reached the blue switch and stood on it, letting Link move on. The Hylian boy entered a room with two skultulas and easily slew them, then pulled another lever at the door. Romani entered a room with many blocks and few visible switches. She had to climb onto a few blocks to see where the blue switches were. When she saw it, she jumped from block to block and pushed one onto the switch. Link went into the next room and fought a wolfos. He slew it and allowed Romani to enter the final room, where she stepped on a switch that allowed him to enter too.

Link thought this would be the end of it, like the last time he had to deal with Sakon. But apparently Sakon had done some work on his security system in the past four years. Instead of coming out for them to grab, the conveyor belt carried the bundle onto a platform that took it up to a second floor room. Link swore and looked for a way to the room above. All he saw was the door he and Kafei used to get out of the chamber and back into the open, and when he looked into it the hallway appeared no different than that time.

Wanting to test something, Romani got onto the platform herself, which carried her up to the above room. Link followed her when it came back down. When he got up, Romani was already fighting the thief with deku nuts and sticks. But every time she tried to strike him with one or the other, he would jump over her and out of her reach. Sakon was too occupied to do anything about the sack with Romani's stuff in it, which lay unnoticed by a wall. So Link took it and jumped down the hole to get it away from Sakon then went back up into the higher room. When there, he placed a deku stick where he figured Sakon would land on his next jump. It worked and Sakon lost his balance and fell, spraining something in the land. Link motioned for Romani to come to him, which she did after grabbing the blue feather the thief wore, and both went back into the lower level.

Romani immediately grabbed the sack and both just rushed out of the chamber thru the hallway. The hall circled around the obstacle chamber so they got out thru the same way they entered. Not bothering to stop just yet, both rushed off towards the waterfall, hoping to stay ahead of Sakon in case he was following them. When they got close to the broken bridge both stopped to take a break.

Sadly even that wasn't going to be easy. A Garo and an octorok showed up to ambush them. Link fought the Garo by deflecting its attacks with his shield then giving it a fatal slash. Romani just went behind one of the wooden posts to avoid the octorok, since she was digging thru the sack getting her stuff out. Before the Garo died, leaving no corpse, it said 'Being light as a feather gives one an advantage in elevated areas.' Link had no idea what that meant.

Romani got all her stuff out and put it all in the proper place. Once it was on, she felt much better, like she had been naked without it. Sakon's sack had a few things that weren't hers, but she had no problem claiming them. They were some extra valuable rupees, some more arrows, and even two deku dartguns with dart-filled pouches, one of which she gave to Link. The only thing in there she didn't claim was a bottle of whiskey, so she just left it by the empty sack by the post. Sakon could just reclaim that later.

Link fired two ice arrows and froze the two octoroks present, allowing him and Romani to cross the river. Using their hookshots, both climbed up the cliffsides and reached the plateau where the grand castle and music house were. The sun was setting so the floating skulls were getting ready to come out and curse the unsuspecting. Feeling too tired to try Stone Tower so soon, Link and Romani headed for the castle and entered the side entrance to the great gate. When they got to the room with the crystal, which had deactivated after so long but the giant sun block was still gone, they settled down next to each and slept all night.

The next morning the two entered the door to climb Stone Tower. Link used the Elegy of Emptiness to move the floating blocks so they could continue upwards. When they reached the second set of switches, Romani offered to handle these rather than having Link do more. After hearing him play the song so much here she knew she could do it too. So she tried and a shell figure of Romani's human form appeared on a switch, moving the necessary block. They continued this, only troubled by the occasional guay and beamos. But around 2:30 pm, both reached the main platform in front of the entry to the temple of Stone Tower. And perched there was Obsidia.

"So little life, so much death,

Decorate the land of east sand.

What lives will kill and make blood spill,

What dies may rise and stand.

One wound will not make anything

Give in to death's demand."

Like the other three times Obsidia vanished in a warp trail heading away after finishing her little poem. Link and Romani pulled out their swords and shields, awaiting the soon to be seen enemy.


	46. Ikana Canyon 4

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Six: Ikana Canyon Part Four

_27 days to break curse_

Link and Romani weren't sure what to expect here. The creature they had to face this time didn't make some kind of big sign of it's arrival, unlike the previous ones. Instead of a lot of flair, dozens of soft silver threads started floating around, originating from the top of the temple entryway. A few brushed against them both, but they did nothing to them. In fact, they felt almost like silk. The only troubling thing was that were so many of them in one place and there didn't seem to be an explanation for it.

Then all of a sudden, the threads secured themselves in place all around the tower and lightly tightened. The whole area low looked like the haven of a large, haphazard spider. Several of the threads had secured onto Link and held him in place. He could move, but he could barely swing his sword or change where he was standing. Romani wasn't bound at all, so she tried to cut the threads off him. But they couldn't be cut, even when she swung her blade with all her might. For threads that felt so soft, they sure acted like steel.

Romani noticed that all the threads came together at one point, at the top of the temple entryway. She looked and saw the creature Obsidia had left for them to fight. At first glance, it looked like a walking scarecrow, dressed like the Skull Kid or Pierre. The clothes were all a dark crimson with a hat that was light scarlet. The face looked like a Redeads, but it had four eyes. There also appeared to be a thick mane of silver thread in place of hair. The hands were raised up and four inch talons could be seen on all digits but the thumbs. Also, it's mouth was stitched shut.

Tatl looked over the creature. "That thing is called Phrite. It doesn't seem like much itself, but it has some nasty ricks up it's sleeves. And I have a feeling this web here does more than make it hard for you to move. Be on your guard."

Phrite stepped onto one of the strands of thread. It gave a little, but apparently the scarecrow-like thing was much lighter than it appeared. It bent down and touched the thread it was standing on with a glowing purple claw. The glow spread to the thread and spread to them all soon, then reached Link. He struggled to get away, but his eyes glowed purple then his whole body slumped down, like he fell asleep, held up by some threads.

"Link!" Romani screamed as she shook his body, trying to wake him up. She and the fairies noticed that when she touched the threads nothing happened to her, probably because they didn't latch onto her. When Link didn't respond, she glared at Phrite with a tear forming in her right eye. "You are so dead, you hear me?"

Phrite didn't respond, but he did have a few more threads fly towards her. Luckily for Romani the wind affected where they went more than the creature did, so she was able do dodge them effortlessly. Sadly there wasn't much room for Romani to go here and she landed near the edge of the platform, almost losing her balance. Phrite tugged a thread close to her feet that jerked and made her lose her balance completely. So she fell over the edge.

Tatl and Tael both flew down, knowing they couldn't save her but felt compelled to do something about it. They went about a third of the way down before they realized that they had pasted Romani. They turned up and gasped when they saw her lying on the threads but not tangled up in them. They got close to her and saw she was confused too. Even Phrite looked surprised.

"What the hell? How is Romani not falling? These strings can't be that strong." She asked herself and them. She then stood up and positioned herself carefully to balance on several threads at once. They gave some slack but didn't snap.

"It's like she got lighter all of a sudden. But how did that happen?" Tatl said to herself.

"Don't know." Tael answered as Romani jumped off the threads and back onto the platform. Her jump was much farther than it normally should have been they noticed. "I don't notice anything different about her. Do you?" Tatl just shook her head.

When Romani landed she had no time to think about any changes to her. All she wanted to do was attack the psuedo-scarecrow. Thinking attacking from a distance was the best approach here, she readied her bow. 'How about a little fire, scarecrow?' She joked as she fired a fire arrow. It missed the intended target but lit several of the threads. The flames spread over the entire web, soon reaching the still unconscious Link.

Romani panicked and tried to pull Link out of the fire. Fortunately the threads' hold had weakened so they snapped off him and she got him out of harms way with only minor singes on his tunic. She checked on him and was relieved to see that was the worst of the damage, but he was still knocked out cold. Romani glared back at Phrite, who was currently dangling upside-down from a thread like a spider at the entry of the temple.

Phrite's mane spread out like a peacock's tail and the web began to reform slowly over the open area. Romani fired a regular arrow at the enemy, and it severed the left hand. Several threads happened to catch it and the creature didn't even seem to notice its injury. When some of the threads looked like they were going to latch onto Romani, she did a magical spinslash attack which protected her. All threads then secured a place, leaving Romani unbound.

Phrite then tore open the stitches off its mouth, and a wave of black threads spewed out. It took on the form of a serpentine dragon and pounced at Romani. She jumped out of its way and slashed at it. She made a cut, but the severed ends knotted themselves together. Romani landed and was ready to attack again, then noticed she was again standing on the web like a spider might. Keeping her balance was the hard part, but she didn't have time to think about that as the dragon threads attacked again, making her jump away again.

This kept going on for a while. The dragon would attack and Romani would jump away and slash at it, landing on the threads like she weighted nothing. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Phrite wasn't doing anything, just dangling on the strings like a discarded puppet. When she jumped she fired a fire arrow and it hit the dragon, which panicked and fled back into Phrite's mouth. The mouth restitched shut, and the pseudo-scarecrow sprang back to life.

'Hmm... I think that black mesh is the real beast. A creature with a fake body and a real one. This could prove tough.' Romani thought as she knelt on several threads. Suddenly she felt herself being choked, and found it was Phrite's severed left hand, being manipulated by the threads it was attached to, like a marionette. Phrite rushed over to do worse to her, but she managed to fire a stone arrow at it, petrifying the thing in moments. The hand around Romani's neck suddenly lost its grip and collapsed off her. But before the stone body could fall off the web, the black mesh managed to force itself out and weave itself into the web. The stone body fell to the bottom of the tower, forgotten, then shattered.

The now black and silver web of threads suddenly grew a number of dragon heads, making it some sort of fabricated hydra. With Romani right in the middle of it. She knew that there was no way to get out of this with just a fire arrow, especially considering she only had one left. Thinking of the only option left, she reached into hammerspace as the many heads lunged at her all at once.

Rather than jump away, she grabbed the neck of the nearest head and swung behind it, as if she was trying to hitch a ride on it. While she did this, she pulled out a lit bomb and dropped it where she had been standing. One of the dragons ate it, then exploded into flames which quickly spread. Romani jumped off and landed by Link. All but one head of Phrite's real form burned to ash, and that one only got away because it severed it's own threads. It spread itself rather thin to secure itself onto something, which happened to be the open doorway to the temple. Right now it looked like some kind of dark spiderweb with a face. Romani took a chance and turned her last arrow into a fire arrow, and shot it. Phrite tried to dodge, but couldn't loosen itself in time. It would have shrieked in pain as it burned away to nothing if it had a voice.

Seeing the creature turn to ash made Romani sigh in relief and collapse to her knees. Tatl and Tael nudged her to see if she was okay. Then she heard the giant's voices, saying "The next fight will be your toughest." Neither she or the fairies understood that, but thought it might mean Obsidia was tougher than she looked. Then she noticed a glowing orb that revealed itself to be a Terminan mirror shield, which Romani quickly claimed.

"Uh... what happened?" Link asked as he woke up, sounded not fully awake yet. He sure woke up completely when the red-haired ranch girl happily hugged him.


	47. Link's Nightmare

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Seven: Link's Nightmare

_26 days to break curse_

After defeating the boss creature at Stone Tower, the curse marks on Link and Romani weakened even more. Now all four comma marks were gone, but a single black dot the size of a big grape remained. They figured that meant that all they had left to do was face Obsidia herself and possibly whoever she claimed to be working for. With over three weeks left to spare Romani figured they had made great time on this. Link agreed and was reminded that many times when he rushed to finish things back in the repeating three day cycle he would often finish too early. Now he wondered if they would have to wait to face Obsidia at an exact moment like he did the Skull Kid.

Romani was tired from the fight, so the two decided to sleep where they were as opposed to going back down the tower. It would have been easy since all the replicas of Link and Romani created by the Elegy of Emptiness were still in place, but they still had to jump a lot and dodge the perpetually falling boulders. So they felt waiting a night wouldn't hurt them, even if it meant recreating the replicas all over again.

Romani was exhausted while Link was still awake, mostly because of the induced sleep Phrite had caused. He laid down on his back looking up at the stars while Romani used his chest as a pillow, a much more comfortable alternative to the stone floor in her opinion. He didn't mind, in fact he wanted her close by. Her peaceful face and gentle breathing were more relaxing for him than anything else now, and he really needed it. You see, when Phrite made Link go to sleep in the battle, he made Link dream too. And naturally it was anything but a pleasant one. He could still remember it, as if he was having it now.

--

_Link saw himself standing in his old house in the Kokiri village. He had no idea why he was there, so he went outside. He saw the entire Kokiri forest on fire, as if some insane dragon had been there. Kokiri were running and screaming, all ablaze. Link gasped and instantly ran back inside to grab a bucket so he could put the fire out. But once he did the building lit and he was thrown out. When he landed he saw Saria aflame trying to stop-drop-and-roll but failing. Link grabbed her so he could carry her to the pond but all he got ahold of was burning arm bones that separated from a now ashy skeleton._

_Link turned to look away from the horrible sight and saw himself now in Goron City of Death Mountain. Everything looked the same except there were goron statues everywhere the gorons would normally be. When he got close he just knew they weren't statues, but gorons turned to stone. And when he got close, they started to dissolve like they were made out of sand. The last one he saw was one that looked like Darunia, looking ever impatient as always while he still had a solid face._

_"This has got to be a dream." Link said, closing his eyes hoping he'd wake up._

_When he opened his eyes, he saw himself in Zora's Domain, surrounded by zora skeletons. King Zora was the easiest to recognize due to his size and location, and Link felt the smaller one close to him just had to be Ruto. He tried to get out of the area and saw himself at the Gerudo fortress. There he saw all the female bandits decapitated and their bodies just lying around for the buzzards to feast on. Only one head was present, and it was the head of Nabooru, with a shocked pale expression. Link closed his eyes to try and wake up again but saw he now was at Kakariko Village. And there were zombies and ghosts everywhere, eating living people left and right. One of them predictably being Impa. Link tried to do something to end this dream, but once he did the scenery changed right in front of him to the Hyrule castle courtyard. Afraid of what he might see, Link saw Zelda's body hung up on the walls like she had been crucified, with several long swords sticking out of her body in various places._

_"For the love of the goddesses please let me wake up!" Link screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his head._

_Link then slowly reopened his eyes, wondering what horror would be next. However, he saw his room back at Romani Ranch, looking like nothing had ever happened to the place. He cautiously opened the door and saw Romani sitting at the table while Cremia was putting the last plate down._

_"Hey Grasshopper. Finally awake huh?" Romani cheerfully greeted._

_"Hope you're not too tired to help me repair the wagon today Link." Cremia said in that gentle way of hers. When she looked at him she saw his unsettled expression. "Is something wrong?"_

_"I'm not sure." He replied. 'Am I awake now, or it this still part of the dream.' He then pinched himself and felt nothing. 'Damn. Still dreaming.'_

_As soon as he realized that, the room of the room was torn open and the tentacles of the thing in the clouds came down. Two mouths immediately devoured Cremia on the spot, while four claws held a squirming Romani up and dug into her body, making her bleed in dangerous places. Link tried to cut them away from her but one tentacle wrapped around him like a constrictor snake. It turned out to be an eye tentacle and the yellow iris looked right at him._

_"Listen carefully you, for I will only say this once." The eye seemed to speak to him as everything else around him faded away into black. "I am your worst nightmare, literally and figuratively. You have no chance of defeating me. And if you try to, I will harm not you, but those you care about and those close to them. In ways worse then what you saw before. And as for those closest to you, well, I make no promises on whether or not they will survive. If they do, they will wish they hadn't. No one will be spared, and the ones you love will get the worst of my anger."_

_"Why? What did I ever do to you?" Link asked._

_"You did something very taboo to the gods. For that I will make you suffer."_

_"What do you mean? I work for the goddesses, not against them." Link defended himself._

_"Who said I work for Din, Nayru, or Farore? I'm with someone else. You'll know who when the time comes."_

_Before Link could ask anything else, he woke up for real._

--

Link rubbed Romani's back, more to comfort himself than her. He knew that she was already in danger just by being close to him. Could he convince her to stay out of the fights until this was all over? He already knew the answer.


	48. Courage and Heart

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Eight: Courage and Heart

_24 days to break curse_

It took Link and Romani two days to get back to Termina field from Stone Tower taking the direct way. Logic indicated that with the problems in the four compass points removed and the large cloud gone from the sky, there was only one place left to go: the center.

"Ready for this?" Link asked his companion.

"As read as Romani will ever be." She answered, no nervousness in her voice.

The two saw Clocktown in the distance. Right above it was the only place where the murky white cloud was left in the sky. It was hard to tell if any tentacles were currently dangling from it, but they just knew that Obsidia was there, waiting for them. The only question was if they would be able to fight her now or wait until the deadline she had set up for them. They didn't think they could wait that long.

Romani had something else on her mind. Something much more important than whether or not they could fight soon. Ever since the fight at Stone Tower, Link didn't quite seem himself. He was more protective of what she was doing and threw himself at the canyon monsters before she got a chance to, even if she had been closer. It was like he was afraid of anything happening to her, and it was bothering her. She didn't think it was chauvinistic or anything, she just couldn't stand the idea of a worried Link. He was her hero and her crush after all.

Night came and the two camped out outside the observatory. The telescope had fallen off, more likely bitten off, and there were a few large scratchmarks, but no other damage was done to the building. As they sat around a fire to keep warm, Romani chose this moment to bring up what had been bothering her. "Hey, Grasshopper, did something happen to you while you were out cold?"

Link looked confused. "Yeah, but I told you I was fine."

"I know. But lately, you seem a little on-edge. Like I'm fragile and could break easily. Are you now uncertain about Romani's skills?" The ranch girl asked sadly.

"No. Of course not. You kicked that guy's ass. Why would you think I think that?" Link defended.

"Well, you just have been a little overprotective of me since the canyon. Why? You know I can handle some minor monsters easily."

Link sighed. "When I was unconscious, I saw something. I saw everyone I knew in Hyrule be brutally, cruelly killed. Sometimes already dead. It wasn't something anyone can just simply push out of their mind."

'I knew he never forgot anyone from Hyrule, but now it sounds like he really wants to go back there and help them all. Will he leave me behind to do that?' Romani sadly thought and asked herself. 'If he does, then hopefully I can convince Cremia to let me come along.'

"Then I saw Romani Ranch." Link continued after a brief pause, regaining his friend's attention. "Cremia was killed and you were about to be. Then... I think whatever has been taunting our dreams for years spoke to me, and said it was just a warning. It would target everyone I got close to, to make me suffer."

"I'm not defenseless, Link." Romani quietly commented.

"I know." Link responded. "But we don't know who this fiend is or what they can do. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you and I couldn't prevent it."

"Likewise." Romani added.

Tatl and Tael came in between them. "There's no need to get yourselves worked up over what _might_happen. If something's threatening to make your life hell, then go right to them and give them hell first. That's something you do well Link."

Link took a deep breath. "I guess that's all we can do. But still, let's save it for tomorrow. I'll take the first watch." He then pulled out the All Night Mask.

Romani went to sleep while Link watched out for any nocturnal threats. Apparently some scowlets came close and decided to ambush the Hylian boy. Not wanting there to be too much trouble, Link fired off a few poison arrows and rotten them to the bone. It was over too quickly. After a few hours Romani took over for him and her watch was uneventful. Sunrise came and the two took their time to get to Clocktown, not wanting to exhaust themselves before any major battle.

They entered the fallen city thru the east gate and looked the buildings still standing. They found a shop where they each drank a red and green potion to make them at their max, then made sure they had a bottled fairy on them. Then they fully stocked their quivers and bombags, and grabbed something to eat and drink. It was a sort of an unofficial fuel-up-for-the-fight/last-meal combination that neither wanted to admit to. When they were confident they were ready for anything, they headed for the clock town, just knowing that was the place to go.

Their instincts proved right. Perched in front of the clock tower was the ebony-skinned, ivory-haired, yellow-eyed woman known as Obsidia. Surrounding her were four eye-tentacles. She turned to look at the two fourteen year-olds lazily. "Well, gotta say I'm surprised you made it this far this quickly. Your older sister must be proud of you two. Now you hafta face me, and even if you somehow win, my masters will be next. So tell you what, just surrender and leave, and you'll never have to worry about us again."

Link narrowed his eyes. "How stupid do you think we are?"

"Pretty stupid to actually chase me all over the country. But you can't say I didn't offer you a way out. Here's your last chance to forget about it." She then snapped her fingers and Link and Romani felt a familiar burning on their right shoulders. When they looked, they saw the last fragment of the curse mark, the black dot, was gone. They were now freed. "Still want to fight a battle you can't possibly win? Wouldn't you rather find some other country to go make a home for yourselves and live without combat?"

"We'll both do that after we beat you and whoever you follow." Link stated. Romani noticed the way he phrased it and wondered what he meant.

Obsidia shrugged. "So be it. This will be more fun for me too by the way." She then opened her arms and a portal opened up on the ground. "You know what to do. Now, like the poet Ataku said long ago, 'The chance is here, do I accept? I know I shouldn't, but I have a debt.' See ya soon." She then jumped down and disappeared into the portal. It stayed open and the tentacles slowly withdrew into the cloud.

"Now it makes sense." Romani quietly mumbled.

"What makes sense?" Link asked.

"When Obsidia said those poems before we fought those creatures, I always thought they sounded familiar. Apparently they were written by a poet named Ataku who lived long ago. Cremia had one of his books she used to read all the time."

The portal was getting smaller. Link grabbed Romani's hand. "No time for that. We gotta go." They both jumped into the portal and disappeared. Tatl and Tael tried to as well, but for some reason couldn't get thru. When they tried again, it vanished completely.

"Good luck you two, where ever you are." Tael said softly.

"Link, you better come back alive or I'll kill you." Tatl said not so softly.

Meanwhile, all over Termina, people and the nonhuman sentient races were suddenly getting feelings that something big was going to happen soon. Anju and Kafei didn't know what it meant, but they headed towards the field to check it out. Others from Clocktown who survived did the same thing, all being cautious.


	49. Battle With Obsidia 1

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Forty-Nine: Battle With Obsidia Part One 

For a moment, Link and Romani saw nothing but white. That was normal when traveling in a warp of any kind, tunnel or musical, so neither felt anything amiss. When they could see again, they saw themselves standing in some dark place without any apparent light source in ankle deep water. The ground also felt soft and muddy beneath their boots. When they looked around, both instinctively grasped the other's hand to avoid getting separated. And since they couldn't see either of the fairies, or their enemy, neither felt comfortable here and now. It was like they were standing inside their old nightmares for real this time.

Then a soft glow came from above, in the form of a hauntingly neon yellow full moon. When the place was lit, they saw Obsidia perched on a bench. She shrugged when she saw them. "So you still ignored me. Fine. So be it." Then she stood up and the bench sank into the ground.

"Where's my sister?" Romani demanded, pulling out her sword.

"Oh, you'll see her soon enough. If you can beat me that is. But I should tell you, you may not like what you find." Obsidia casually remarked, with a hint of playful menace in her tone. All of a sudden the water around her started churning, like it was boiling.

Mud suddenly came up from under the water in the form of hammers as big as the two teens. They raised their shields and withstood the hit. The mud then returned to normal and dropped back onto the ground, until it rose up again in the form of large snakes. Link and Romani simply decapitated them. A third strike came in the form of mud claws, which were still no problem to handle. "Is that all you can do? Move mud?" Link shouted, actually a little disappointed.

Obsidia shook her head. "No. I control whatever I'm touching. The ground, the water, even the air." With that, the water started spinning around like a whirlpool, making Link and Romani lose their balance for a moment. When they fell they felt the mud try wrapping itself around them to pin them down. But luckily it was just plain ordinary mud so they could easily squirm free. When the did they felt a sudden gust of air that plowed right in their faces making them fall backwards again. Once on their backs the mud tried making them sink into it like quicksand while the water tried to cover their bodies.

"This is bad. She can basically keep us from standing up. How do we fight something like that?" Link asked himself. He also noticed that this time the mud was a little harder to escape from.

Romani saw Obsidia hovering in the air at the moment with a whirlwind around her. She sat up and noticed that the water had still and the mud wasn't gripping. 'Of course. She has to touch those things for her to use them. Right now's a good time to strike.' However, surely the whirlwind would defend her, so how did they attack her? Romani threw a bomb at the ebony woman but the whirlwind made it miss. It did disrupt the flow of the wind though. Ebony landed and the whirlwind dissipated completely, so Romani chose that brief moment to fire an arrow. It struck her in the left shoulder.

Obsidia didn't shriek or yell in pain, but she did clutch her wound and fall to her knees. Romani rushed up and started hitting her with her sword. Several cuts were made and even some hair was severed. Obsidia managed to make a sudden geyser blow the ranch girl away before she could do more damage. But then Link came up behind her and slashed her across the back. Obsidia then jumped and hovered in the air again, protected by another whirlwind.

'Something's not right. She's always on the defensive, like she doesn't have any fighting skills. Surely someone like her has a trick up her sleeve.' Link tried think it over, then saw some of Obsidia's hair floating in the water. What caught his attention the most, was that it was turning red. A rather familiar shade of red.

Romani was more focused on the enemy and decided to try something out. She fired a lightning arrow and fired, and as expected it was blocked. But luckily for the two teens, the electricity from the arrow surged thru the wind and brushed up against Obsidia. It looked like it hurt her to she ended up lowering. Romani ran up to her and swung her sword thru the whirlwind, and felt herself make a hit. Their was no noise indicating pain, but then something went flying away. Curious, Link told a closer look and saw it was Obsidia's right hand. He held it up and Romani smirked.

"Like that, bitch? Well you're about to get more." She told the foe, feeling very into this fight for personal reasons. With her attention focused on her sister's prisoner, she failed to notice what Link did at that moment.

Obsidia held her bleeding stump, glared, and made contact with the ground. Bullets f mud shot up at Romani, who couldn't get her shield up in time. The attack didn't pierce her or anything, just felt like being hit with many wet dirt clods. Obsidia then swung her remaining hand and punched Romani right in the jaw, sending her flying back. Obsidia then made many tidal waves to crash down on the girl where she landed and a pit in the mud to prevent her from just walking away. Romani felt like she was going to drown.

Link ran over quickly and pulled her out, getting both of them incredibly soaked and dirty. But the water kept trying to knock them in, so Link used an ice arrow to freeze it. A lot of the water froze, but not all of it, and fortunately no one's feet were encased in the ice.

"Thank you for giving me a new tool." Obsidia cheerfully said as she touched the ice. She morphed it into a scythe that she swung at them clumsily with her left hand. Link fired a fire arrow at it and melted the weapon. Obsidia shrugged and touched more ice, giving her a sword to use now. Romani fired a fire arrow herself, but had it hit Obsidia's hand too, burning both the ice and the flesh. Still Obsidia made no expression of being hurt. It was like she was immune to feeling pain.

"Romani, we can't just attack her like that anymore!" Link warned her.

"What the hell are you talking about? She took Cremia!" Romani declared.

Link sadly shook his head and revealed the severed hand. Now it was flesh-colored instead of ebony, and thee was a distinctive mole by the ring finger knuckle. "No, I think... she _is _Cremia."


	50. Battle With Obsidia 2

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Fifty: Battle With Obsidia Part Two

Romani collapsed to her knees in utter shock at hearing what Link said. She was in complete denial, with tears beginning to pool at the sides of her eyes. "N... no! It can't be. She can't be my sister! There's no way!"

Obsidia heard them and burst out laughing. "So you finally figured it out? What did you think the ghosts planned to do once they took their captives? Eat them? They worked for my masters and brought the girl to them, giving me her body to use as my own. Everything you've been doing to me was actually felt by your precious sister, not me." Romani wanted to cry and throw up at the same time, and she was damn close to doing it. "She's been watching everything thru my eyes the whole time, being a real pain in my ass begging me to spare you. If you want her back, you'll have to defeat me. But she may not survive the experience."

Romani had lost the will to fight now. How could she possibly keep up the fight when her sister would be the one who suffered? Maybe even killed because of her? And she had already cut off her sister's hand and made several gashes. She felt wounded herself and just couldn't do anything more.

Obsidia felt no such feeling and got ready to do more. She made four walls of mud start to rise around the ranch girl, who did nothing to retaliate. Before they closed in, Link tore thru them and pulled his friend out. She was pretty limp and her eyes were unfocused, like she had zoned out or something.

"Romani, snap out of it! Do you want to die?" Link shouted.

"I can't attack her. I just can't." She mumbled.

A wave of water rushed at them both and Link carried her out of the way. "Well the feeling's not mutual with her." She didn't respond; in fact she looked worse. "Romani, that's not actually Cremia we're fighting. Just some creature who stole her body. Maybe Cremia will be hurt if we fight her, but she definitely will be hurt if we just leave her like this."

"How can I attack her? I don't want to hurt her."

Link looked at the enemy and got an idea. 'Please let this work.' He then pulled out his ocarina and played the Song of Healing.

Obsidia suddenly felt a painful surge throughout her body for the first time. It got stronger and soon it felt like her skin was being torn apart. She tried ignoring it but it was no use, then she felt herself being pulled out of the body she was using. She tried resisting the force but she couldn't. Then all she saw and felt was a white light, then nothing.

Link and Romani both noticed the flash around Obsidia, and when it vanished, they saw Cremia's body in her place. A black mask with yellow eyes and a white band on top fell onto the ground next to her. Cremia then collapsed onto her side, all her wounds bleeding heavily and her breathing labored.

"CREMIA!!" Romani shouted and rushed over to her older sister, followed by Link. They got in front of her and helped her sit up, which ached her. "Are you okay? Please speak to me!"

"Ro... Romani? Link?" Cremia quietly asked as her eyes slowly opened.

"We're okay. You're the one who isn't." Link told her.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't stop it all. I never wanted you two to suffer." Cremia weeped, trying to ignore the pain of her wounds. Then she coughed up some blood. "It's getting cold."

Romani reached for a bottle. "Here. This'll help you get better." But before she could open it and have the fairy do it's job, a mouth tentacle came down from the dark sky and devoured Cremia whole. All that was left of her was her severed hand and some discarded hair. Romani screamed and Link tasted bile.

What looked like a staircase descended from the sky, one piece at a time in a spiral, beckoning them to go up. They saw the tentacle withdraw at it's top, and knew they had to go there to avenge Cremia. "You ready?" Link asked, no worry in his voice, only hostility for his target.

Romani stood up and stomped on the Obsidia mask until it shattered into dozens of pieces. "Now I am. Let's go kill them."

Both then went up the stairs with swords and shields ready and prepared to face whatever was behind all this. When they got to the top, instead of going thru some kind of door or hole, everything just went white then the scenery changed. They saw themselves in a grass field with a large tree in the center. Link recognized it as the place where he met the five masked children. However, this time there were dozens of tentacles with eyes, claws, and mouths swarming around the tree instead of children. Link and Romani took a closer look, ready to fight any second. All the tentacles started to condense as they got closer, then they compressed themselves and became the body of the Majora Mask child.

"Majora, I had a feeling you were behind all this." Link growled.

"Well well well, long time no see." The masked child said.

"I thought I took care of you last time." Link added.

"You did. You severed my connection to my avatar, that mask, so I couldn't do anything to you after our fight. So I've been waiting for a time I would be strong enough to do something without needing the mask worn."

"You want a fight? You've got it you bastard!" Romani yelled and lunged at him. Link joined and the battle that had been awaited for over four years began.


	51. The Real Threat

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Fifty-One: The Real Threat

Hoping to end it quickly, Link and Romani tried to slash Majora right away before he could do anything. He jumped backwards, but one of them made a cut across his torso. It didn't bleed because it healed quickly, but a very faint pink mark like a scar remained. When Majora landed, his arms morphed into several clawed tentacles and swung out at the two teenagers. It was easily for them to block the assault with their shields. When he stopped, Romani fired a stone arrow at him with a hostile expression on her face. The arrow struck, but there was no effect.

"Foolish mortal." Majora shrugged. "I'm Majora, the demigod of chaos. You think a mere mortal's magic would affect me?"

"Then I guess we need to fight you with something a little more powerful." Link commented as he pulled out the Fierce Deity's Mask. Romani smiled when she saw this, thinking they had it won. But she got unsettled when Majora showed no reaction.

"Go ahead. I dare you." Majora told the Hylian boy.

Link put on the mask and expected the change. But something was different. It felt hot and painful, and also like something was crushing him. And he started hearing a sinister laugh in his head. Before he could do anything, the change was completed and Fierce Deity Link stood in Link's place.

Romani expected him to go right ahead and attack the so-called demi-god, but Fierce Deity just stood there, looking satisfied with himself. "Link, what are you waiting for? Attack him already." Her response was a back slap. "What the...?"

"Shut up. I am not Link. I am Fierce, the god of war." The figure told her, his voice nothing like Link's. It sounded exactly like the voice that belonged to the yellow eyes that haunted her nightmares for years. When this new person looked at her, Romani saw those same yellow eyes on his face.

"Wh... what happened to Link?" Romani nervously asked, not understanding what was going on here.

"Why should I tell you anything?" Fierce replied gruffly. "All you need to know is that Link angered me years ago by using my own powers against me." Fierce then unsheathed his helix blade.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Romani shouted. Fierce tried to slash her but she jumped away and got caught by several clawed tentacles coming from Majora's arms.

"Since I like chaos, I'll go ahead and let you know. You see, the two of us are good friends, and years ago when my avatar allowed me to make a mess of the world, I thought I'd let my friend here have a go at it too. Some when that boy came along to fight me, I came him Fierce's mask thinking it would let Fierce take him over and stop his interfering."

"But it didn't work." Fierce bitterly interrupted, resting his sword on his right shoulder. "Apparently the boy had a stronger will than we thought and I couldn't control him. So he used my power to fight my friend and destroy his connection to his mask and the mortal world. Then he used it to slay several of his minions too. That really pissed me off."

Romani didn't respond yet, so Fierce continued. "I really wanted to get vengeance on him for misusing my power, but until he put my mask back on there wasn't anything I could do. All I could do was terrorize his dreams since he kept the mask close by and wait until some kind of disaster happened where he needed to wear my mask again. And by then, I'd be able to overwhelm him and control his body. An eye for an eye."

"So I helped my friend by borrowing some of his power to reach down into the mortal realm indirectly and cause a lot of chaos." Majora added. "He and I created several new monsters including the one who controlled your sister, and made it so the boy would have to fight and eventually put on Fierce's mask, making him have his revenge."

Romani glared, having never felt this angry before. "You mean you caused all this destruction, all this death, all this needless violence, just to make Link put on a mask?" Her magical aura was starting to turn a visible red.

Fierce shrugged. "Damn right. And now that I'm back to full strength after being sealed away by the other gods and goddesses, I can make a lot of trouble on earth for people like you. In fact, I think I'll start with you girl."

Fierce swung his sword, but Romani jerked at Majora's tentacles, which made them end up taking the hit. Majora screamed in pain and made his arms turn back to normal, but they also had bleeding wounds that didn't immediately heal. Apparently while wounds made from a mortal did nothing in this realm, wounds made from an immortal were much more significant. But Romani knew she couldn't easily make them attack each other for her to get out of this alive. And besides, her first priority anyway was getting Link back.

Majora stepped back and Fierce approached Romani hostilely. He tried to swing his sword at her, but it was very easy for her to dodge it. Had a normal person been there, they probably would have been cut in half, but Romani was expertly trained in this type of situation so she could handle it better than most. But even considering that, Romani couldn't help but notice that Fierce attacked slower than she expected him to. He tried again and she easily dodged again, proved it wasn't a one time mistake on the dark god's part.

Majora sensed his friend was in trouble, so he decided to provide a helping hand. Or in this case, mouth. His left arm morphed into a single tentacle with a mouth at the end and tried to bite her. Acting on reflex, Romani swung her sword to block it, and apparently cut open the lips and make the attack stop in mid-air. She had no idea why all of a sudden she could hurt the demigod of chaos, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Romani decided to handle the lesser deity first and rushed at him, able to get away from Fierce since his movements were getting jerky. Romani ran and stabbed the horned-faced creature in the chest, making a successful cut. She pulled back but the Majora wasn't going down that easily. Both arms turned into clawed tentacles again and tried to tear her apart. Unfortunately for her his movements weren't at all jerky, so she was hard-pressed to be on the defensive. It seemed every time she made a cut on his body, he did on hers too. Then she felt a sudden burst of magic from behind her, and instinctively plowed thru the tendrils to get away from it. Majora wasn't so lucky, and took the full force of the blast.

Romani paused to catch her breath and saw what had happened. It looked like Fierce had decided to attack her while she was busy fighting Majora, and fired a blast from his helix sword. But she dodged and Majora got hit, and he didn't look good. He looked like a burnt redead with horns. After he collapsed to his knees a red, blue, and green crystal formed around him and kept him trapped inside. Again, Romani didn't know what was happening but wasn't going to complain.

Fierce however was pissed. He glared at Romani, as if it was all her fault and tried to ambush her. But he moved too slow and his limbs kept stopping suddenly. Romani dodged and kept her shield up. 'Even if that's some evil spirit, that's Link's body too, and I don't want to hurt him. And I know he wouldn't want to hurt me either. Hey, is that why this guy's moving slow? Is Link fighting back, trying to get his body back? Maybe if I can weaken him enough, Link can force that mask off.'

Fierce tried attacking her again, and instead of dodging Romani blocked the hit and headbutted him in the gut. Not expecting that, Fierce became unbalanced and fell back for a moment. Romani was trying to be careful and not risk potentially permanent damage to her best friend/crush. So she couldn't weaken him by cutting him, shooting him, or kicking him in the crotch. 'I've gotta stop this guy and soon, but how can I do this?'

'You've been prepared for this situation already. You've got something that can give you an advantage here.' A strange woman's voice whispered in her ear from out of nowhere.

'What? Who was that?' Romani quickly thought.

'You can win this. You have the right tool and heart.' A second woman's voice said.

'How can I? I'm just one girl.' Romani countered, getting edgy since Fierce was at his feet again and had changed his helix sword into two long single-bladed swords, one in each hand.

'One person cannot win this fight. But maybe more than one can.' A third woman's voice stated.

'What the hell does that mean?' Romani commented, using her shield and sword to block Fierce's two swings. Even with two weapons, he was still slow in his attacks on her. 'And what do they mean by 'right tool'? I've got nothing that can hurt a god. Unless...' Romani stepped back to get some safe distance and reached into hammerspace and pulled out the objection in question. The red, blue, green, and purple mask she gained in the Ikana labyrinth. 'Might as well see what this thing does. Let's fight a mask with a mask.' Romani then placed the mask on her face, and her body glowed four different colors.


	52. The Four Sides of Romani

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Four Sides of Romani

The glow on Romani's body faded, but she had no idea what had happened to her. She looked down at her body but saw nothing different about it. 'Guess it's not a shape-changing mask.' She thought. 'So what does it do then?'

"What the hell? Why am I in my deku form?" A whistly voice said to her left.

"Huh? I'm a zora?" Another voice added from her right.

Romani looked both directions, and got a huge surprise. She saw her own deku scrub, goron, and zora forms around her. They then saw her and each other too. "What the hell? What happened to me?" All four said in unison, eyes darting back and forth.

"Hey what's that on your face?" Deku-Romani asked Human-Romani. She couldn't see anything, but Goron-Romani and Zora-Romani saw a purple dot the size of a grape on her right cheek. Outside of that, there was nothing different about her. None of the other three had dots on their faces.

"Well, this certainly is surprising. A mask that gives you a numbers advantage and different forms. But it doesn't make any difference here. Four times zero is still zero." Fierce told her, reminding all four Romani's that he was still here. He then tried to cut them with both swords, but three of them dodged and Goron-Romani blocked the hit. It hurt a little, but naturally as a goron her body could withstand and ignore a lot of pain humans couldn't.

_(To make things easier on me this is how I'll refer to the Romani's: Human-Romani=H-R, Deku-Romani=D-R, Goron-Romani=G-R, Zora-Romani=Z-R)_

"No time to be confused on this! Just try not to die!" Z-R shouted and got her fins ready to strike and defend.

"I hear you." G-R smirked and rolled right at Fierce, striking his legs. He didn't go down like she expected him to, but he did wobble and use his swords to keep his leverage.

D-R bounced around and shot off some bubbles, which were more distracting than anything else. "I'm getting my friend back, you hear me?"

H-R stood off to the side unsure what to do. 'I don't want to hurt Link, but how can I save him without doing that?'

G-R and D-R attacked again, having no effect other than keeping Fierce from doing anything else. Z-R looked over the whole situation. 'Wait, something's not right. All four of us are the same Romani, right? So why are we all acting differently here?' H-R was fingering her weapons, but didn't look battle-ready, D-R looked more like she was playing, G-R was recklessly attacking without much rhyme or reason, and Z-R was being defensive and strategical. 'Is it because of the mask? Just what the hell is this thing I'm wearing?'

Fierce swung one of his swords and struck the rolling G-R, deflecting her and making her almost crash into D-R. The deku scrub spun to dodge and managed to make a weak hit against the war god. G-R stopped and checked for a wound, finding none. Z-R threw her fins but they were blocked by the swords. D-R tried to attack again but one of Fierce's swords cleaved her vertically. She shrieked and vaporized in a puff of smoke.

H-R felt a sudden momentary surge of pain flow thru her body, making her drop to her knees from the surprise. It passed just as quickly as it came and she stood up again. Without a mirror, she couldn't see a green spot appear on her left cheek. Once she was up on her feet again, she grasped her sword firmly but didn't unsheathe it yet.

Fierce paid D-R's vanishing act no mind and looked for the next foe to strike. G-R rolled back to crush him, but jumped up at the last moment and tried to hold him in a goron-style bear hug. "I've got him! Someone do something quick!"

Z-R rushed forward and used her fins to knock Fierce's swords out of his hands. When she was close enough, the war god's body became covered in flames. G-R could handle it all too easily, but Z-R was much more vulnerable to this kind of defense. She caught on fire and couldn't put herself out in time, resulting in her becoming a smoke puff like D-R had. H-R meanwhile felt some more pain and a blue spot appeared above her right eye.

G-R didn't like what was going on, so she gave Fierce a goron punch to the jaw and rolled up next to H-R before he could recuperate. "What's wrong with you? Why are you just standing there?"

"I... I can't attack Link like this. I just can't." H-R answered.

"You got any better ideas?" G-R asked. Just then she noticed the spots on H-R's face but chose to ignore them for now. "I don't want Link hurt either, but just standing around doing nothing isn't going to help him."

G-R turned back to face Fierce and rolled right into him with much more speed than before, allowing her to to have spikes emerge around her. Fierce felt that one and went down, and G-R stood up and tried pulling the mask of his face. It was futile since shape-changing masks could only be removed by the wearer, but she had to try anyway. Fierce got mad and gave her an uppercut to the jaw. G-R barely felt it, but the blow did make her move away long enough for Fierce to stand up again and grab his swords.

H-R got an idea and grabbed her bow, then fired a light arrow at Fierce. It struck his right forearm and he yelled in pain. G-R moved to give him an uppercut back but his two swords combined back into one in his left hand and he swung it at her before she could avoid it. G-R gasped and disappeared into smoke. H-R felt more pain and a red spot appeared above her left eye. Then all of a sudden, all four spots glowed and the mask reappeared on her face then slid off. It fell into her hand and if Romani had a mirror she'd see no spots on her face now.

"Guess your mask is no good now. Three down, one to go. And since you like fighting four against one, I'll return the favor." Fierce gloated, then summoned four balls of red light in his right hand. They grew and turned into four floating masks, looking like Vipra, Cercan, Phrite, and one of the Twinbino's. The masks floated around Romani and tried to bite her, but she swung her sword to keep them at bay, cutting them but not killing them. Fierece stood off to the side and just watched.

'Dammit. I don't think I can do this.' Romani thought as she defended herself. 'Even if this multiplier mask is the right tool for the job, it's pointless if I don't understand it. Hey voices, if you've got anything else to say I really could use the help. And no riddles this time.'

Everything in front of Romani faded away and the area around her looked sky blue. She felt like she was standing in the sky, but somehow felt solid ground under her feet. She didn't dare look to see what she was standing on though, in case there was nothing there. She wondered where she was and why, then saw someone appear before her. A face she really wanted to see.

"CREMIA? CREMIA!" She rushed to hug her older sister, who happily returned the embrace. Both shed a few tears. "Is it... is it really you? But aren't you... you know... dead?"

"Yes, Romani, sadly, I am dead. But the gods and goddesses are letting me tell you something now. I don't have much time so listen well. And remember, there's no guarantee I can do this again." Cremia told her, and Romani nodded. "Now, the mask you have is called the Four Mask. It's a special treasure like something in another land called the Four Sword. Both make it's user go from one to four fighters, each one ultimately the same person but with a stronger spirit emphasis."

"Is that why the four me's acted differently?" Romani asked.

Cremia nodded. "Yes. You see, there are four key elements to a person's heart and spirit. Courage, wisdom, friendship, and love. Each one of your four bodys has one stronger than the other. Red is for courage, blue is for wisdom, green is for friendship, and purple is for love. Normally when either the Four Mask or Sword are used all four bodys look alike except for the colors of their clothes. In your case, since you already have three shape-shifting masks three of your bodys take those forms too. Your goron self is your courage, your zora self is your wisdom, your deku self is your friendship, and your normal human self is your love."

'That explains a lot.' Romani thought. "And when one's beaten, it disappears and that trait returns to my human form?"

Cremia nodded. "Yes, but if your human form is beaten then the traits go to one of the remaining others. Which one is a matter of circumstances. Basically, three bodies have to be slain before you become complete. Or you just take off the mask."

"But how can this give me an advantage? Even if it's four against one, he's still a god."

"For one, he's a war god. Numbers play an important part in war, not just brute strength. That's one advantage. Two, he can't just get rid of you in one blow when you use that mask. And finally, Link is fighting him from inside his own body to regain control. Weaken him enough, and Link should be able to take the mask off. That may mean actually having to hurt him though. But be careful, Fierce is moving more steadily now, meaning the longer it takes you to fight him, the harder it will be for Link to come back. You have to be strong for him sis. I know you can do this."

Romani didn't know what to say at first. "Okay, I'll try. And I'm sorry you got dragged into this Cremia."

The older ranch girl just hugged the younger one and stroked her back comfortingly. "It wasn't your fault. Besides, you saved me. I'm the one who's sorry for what happened."

'It wasn't your fault." Romani parroted.

"Oh, one more thing Romani. Your other forms have the appropriate weapons and instruments for their species too. So they can use them. Go and get Link back for both of your sakes. You're all each other has now. Don't let him out of your life this easily." Romani nodded wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"I will. I won't ever leave him. Even if it means I have to leave Termina."

"Attagirl. I'll be there watching you at your wedding, just so you know." Cremia replied.

"Sis!" Romani blushed and swatted her sisters shoulder, but there was no offense in the action, just embarrassed joy.

"Hey, at least I didn't say 'honeymoon'." Cremia joked. She then felt something. "Looks like it's time for me to go."

"I love you sis." Romani tearily told her.

Cremia hugged her again. "i love you too, Romani. I know you'll be fine without me, as long as you have Link. Go kick that war god's ass."

"Did you just swear?" Romani asked.

Cremia was already beginning to fade away. "I'm dead. I don't need to watch my language anymore. Give him hell sis." She then faded away completely as did the sky blue surroundings. Romani now saw she was back fighting the four hovering masks, as if no time at all had passed.

Using her shield, Romani knocked all four away from her and readied a spinslash. She released it, and all four masks were disintegrated. She then grinned cockily at Fierce. "Is that all you got? I've just gotten warmed up."

"Big words. Can you back them up little girl?"

"You bet." Romani answered as she put the Four Mask back on and became four versions of herself again. H-R held up her bronze sword, D-R had a deku stick and dart gun handy, G-R had her fists cocked, and Z-R had her hookshot ready. "This is war!" All four shouted in unison and got ready to attack again.


	53. War

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

Chapter Fifty-Three: War

The four Romani's, armed and ready, tried to swarm Fierce from four directions at once. He made his one sword into two again and swung them to keep his adversaries from getting too close. H-R threw a deku nut to slow him down, D-R fired several darts quickly, G-R threw a bomb, and Z-R fired her hookshot, all at once. G-R was the only one to actually make some kind of damaging impact on the war god, making him stumble momentarily. She took the chance to knock him down with her fists, still not wanting to hurt him too much because of Link.

While Fierce was fazed, D-R spun around a lot hoping to knock him on his face. When he got down on his knees she blew a few bubbles in his face, making him gag. Z-R was trying to think of a way to bind him down so Link would have a chance to fight for freedom. Too bad she didn't have anything to do that with since the hookshot was her only weapon. H-R was still holding back, hoping she could do something that wouldn't hurt Link. She knew she was being naive, but she remained hopeful.

Fierce tried to slash D-R who blocked the sword with her nutshell shield. She countered with a deku nut in his eyes, momentarily blinding him and giving her enough time to hop away from him. G-R did a goron pound on his back to keep him down, then sat on his legs and held his arms back. She basically had him in a vise grip where he couldn't do much to defend himself.

"Looks like you've lost. Now give us our Link back!" G-R demanded.

'No, it can't possibly be this easy. He's going to try something here, I just know it.' Z-R cautiously thought.

"There's no way I'm losing to a mere novice!" The war god sneered. He then whistled, and from out of nowhere four ferocious dogs appeared, looking ready to maul. One was a black bulldog, one was a grey doberman, one was a red hunting hound, and the last was a dark brown great dane. All had pupil-less yellow eyes and white collars. "Dogs of War, attack!"

H-R, D-R, and Z-R tried to hold them all off so G-R wouldn't lose her hold on Fierce. Lucky for them this wasn't the first time they had to deal with an angry dog, but these weren't ordinary dogs like their aunt used to have on Romani Ranch. These ones were going to be much more difficult to subdue, and all four pounced at them at once.

H-R used her shield to block the fangs of the red hound. It bounced off the metal surface and tried again at a different angle, only to be blocked by the shield again. The third time it tried it added its claws in the ambush to go around the shield and successfully scratched her leg, tearing her purple dress too and drawing blood. When she winced, she unintentionally moved her shield out of the way enough for the dog to try a direct attack at a more vital part of her anatomy. But thanks to the quick reflexes she had acquired over the years and battles, H-R pointed her sword at the beast, causing it to skewer itself on the sword in its throat. The hound died and turned to ash.

D-R had to spin to keep the bulldog from crushing her in a tackle. Both took a little damage from the collision, but D-R took more. When it tried to tackle her again D-R blew a bubble at it, which splashed on its face. No real damage was done, but the snot it was made from got stuck in its nose and that irritated the hell out of it. The bulldog had to stop and try to paw and lick the stuff out of its nostrils. This gave D-R plenty of time to attack it. She took out a deku stick and tried clubbing it to death on the back of its head. Too bad it wasn't an effective weapon and snapped after the first three hard hits. The angry dog bit her on the arm, but released her when it tasted the foul-tasting blood of the deku scrubs. It whimpered and tried to clear its mouth of the taste, and D-R shot a few darts at its neck, making it become unconscious if not dead.

Z-R used her fins like boomerangs to keep the doberman from getting too close. She knew this was going to be difficult because they were on land where the dog had a natural advantage over a zora. Without any water she couldn't create an electric barrier and the only other shield she had was a part of her body. So this meant she would have to go on the offensive here. By the time her fins returned to her the canine was ready to attack again. She quickly got her hookshot ready and fired it, having it strike between the eyes, stunning it still. She took the opportunity to slash it with all her might with her fins. Just as it became coherent again, Z-R gave it a lethal gash on its neck. Even with the terrain advantage, the doberman died and turned to ash.

G-R was having a hard time with the great dane since she couldn't fight back. So the animal kept trying to chew her left leg off. Her being a goron meant it couldn't easily gnaw thru the thick skin and muscle, but it still hurt G-R. Fierce struggled to get lose from her grip and moved his sword in his right hand enough that he tried cutting her other leg open. G-R tried to give herself spikes to get the great dane away from her, but they just wouldn't appear unless she was rolling. She winced and hoped the other Romani's would be done soon enough to help her out.

H-R and Z-R quickly helped out D-R by stabbing the unconscious bulldog, making it turn to ash. With that done, they went to help out G-R. This was much easier since the great dane was too preoccupied with G-R's leg, making it unable to defend itself when H-R and Z-R simultaneously slashed it, making it turn to ash like all the others. D-R meanwhile tried using the broken deku stick to slap Fierce, demanding he let Link go.

Even outnumbered and outmaneuvered, Fierce had no intention of going down. He was a prideful deity, and like all war gods he didn't like to be on the losing side. But he wasn't out of tricks yet. He whistled again, this time in a different tune, and the ghosts that used to plague Romani Ranch surrounded the area. These ghosts were actually the spirits of people who died in combat long ago, forced to do the bidding of Fierce from time to time. "Restless Souls, attack!"

The gosts slowly swarmed around them all, but this time each had a spear or sword with them and some form of armor. H-R used her bow to get rid of them, Z-R used her hookshot, and D-R blew bubbles since she was low on darts. Luckily these ghosts still had the same weakness they always had before. Unfortunately, like before, there seemed to be no end to them in sight.

G-R thrust her body forward, making Fierce slam his face into the ground, more to make a point than actually hurt him. "Just admit you've lost and give us Link back!" She demanded when she pulled them both up.

"Never." Fierce spat, still struggling to get free. He found a loose hold due to the crushing blow and got his left arm free. Before G-R could get a hold again, he jabbed his sword into her belly, cutting thru her like she was a normal person. G-R yelled in pain and disappeared. H-R felt some quick pain and gained a red spot on her face, along with G-R's courage.

Now unbound, Fierce planned to do the fight himself and get rid of them all once and for all. But first he couldn't resist making it difficult for them to fight back. He snapped his fingers and all the ghosts just disappeared, then he combined his two swords into one again and jabbed it into the ground. The result was three fissures that headed right for the three remaining Romani's. H-R and Z-R were quick enough to get out of the way, but sadly D-R wasn't and fell in. The ground didn't close back up but H-R soon felt a small burst of pain and gained a green spot on her face.

"Damn. This guy just won't go down." Z-R commented to H-R. "Any idea what we should do now?"

"Nope. Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" H-R replied.

Fierce swung his sword and sent glowing disks at them both. Both girls shielded themselves from the attack, but Z-R took more damage since she had to use her fins as her shield, and thus had both of them cut off. Now she had no way to fight back except with the hookshot. Figuring she was going to be beaten anyway, she rushed at him and fired the hookshot, aiming at no particular target. She did hit and wound him but he got her too, and H-R became the complete Romani again and had the Four Mask fall off her face.

Fierce ignored all the wounds and fatigue he had gotten from her and just sneered. "Looks like you were the one who lost. You should have known a war god is always on the winning side." He didn't want to admit it, but for a mortal girl she had been a formidable foe.

Romani panted, ignoring her own wounds and fatigue. "Romani's not dead yet."

"You're a tough one, I'll give you that. But the battlefield is no place for a girl like you." Fierce nonchalantly commented. He was in no rush to finish her off, mostly because he felt the battle was all but over and in the back of his mind Link's rantings were getting more distracting now.

Romani shook her head. "You're wrong. Romani's place is with Link, on and off the battlefield." Fierce didn't reply. Instead he just stood there holding his sword as if daring her to charge at him. She noticed he looked worn out and he was trying to keep his arms still, as if Link wanted to move them but couldn't. 'Dammit, what else can I do to get that mask off his...? Wait a minute.' An idea suddenly came to her. It was a long shot but it had merit. 'Please let this work.'

Romani stuck her sword into the ground and let go of it, and then pulled out her ocarina. "What the hell are you doing?" Fierce asked.

"Getting my friend back." She answered as she placed the instrument to her lips. She then played the Song of Healing, remembering its effects.

Fierce almost immediately felt the effects when she finished. The song made his face feel on fire, and Link's strength started to grow. Link finally managed to take control of his arms back and reached for the sides of his face. Fierce tried pulling them back down, but Link was starting to overwhelm him. "No, I can't lose! Not to you or her! I won't allow it!" He felt Link grasp the edge of his face and start to pull. He let out a final yell as the Fierce Deity Mask was pulled off, forcing him to vacate Link's body.

Link returned to normal, albeit a little wounded and bloody. But to Romani it was the best sight she could hope for. She rushed up to hug him and he knelt on the ground on all fours, unintentionally looking at the Fierce Deity Mask. Romani kicked it away when she reached him and both teens hugged each other with all their remaining strength.

Just then the mask started to hover in front of them with a dark glow coming from behind it. The glow then took on the ethereal form of a man wearing the mask, and it looked like it still wanted to fight. Unfortunately, neither of them had any strength left to keep going. Link pulled out his bow and was ready to fire a light arrow.

He never needed to. Before the mask could do anything to them, a crystal-shaped barrier surrounded it. Fierce, as they figured this thing was, pounded his fists against it but couldn't do anything. Three beams of light came from above and grabbed ahold of the crystal, and pulled it up. It looked like Fierce was shouting, but Link and Romani heard nothing.

"Is it over?" Romani asked as Link put away his bow.

"Sorry. Not quite." A new but gentle voice told them both before they were enveloped in white light.

_Only one chapter left, two if I decide to make a separate epilogue._


	54. Explanations and Requests

_I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did the games would tie in together better and there would be a few different ones added in._

_Here it is, the final chapter. This took me much longer than I figured it would when I started, but I like what I've made. And there will be a sequel just so you know. This is actually part one in a zeldafic trilogy I have in mind. I'd like to thank The Silent Orion for being my most faithful reviewer. I'm rather disappointed that as soon as I stopped demanding them, I stopped getting them from everyone else. Thank you Orion for being the only one who apparently never had to be told to._

_Word of warning: I'm going to be a little liberal with the Zeldaverse timeline and mythology here, but it's to explain the storyline as I see it for this fic. Besides, it's fanfic, meaning what I say goes._

Chapter Fifty-Four: Explanations and Requests

When Link and Romani could see again, they saw themselves in some kind of emerald green room. At first glance it looked a lot like the Chamber of Sages. However the platform Link was on was completely different. Instead of a hexagon surrounded by six different colored circles and a triforce in the center of it, he was sitting on a pentagram in the center of a triangle pointing down. The three points of the triangle touched three squares, one was light maroon, one was navy blue, and one was forest green.

"Any idea where we are?" Romani asked, whispering as she and Link got up to their feet.

"Not a clue. But something tells me we're not in any danger." He whispered back.

The three squares started glowing a pale blue-white light and three figures emerged from them like the sages had done. All three were women and smiled at the two teens. The first had long red hair in a ponytail and wore a purple dancers outfit. The second had long light blue hair and a long elegant dress of the same color, as if she embodied the sky itself. The three had short grass-green hair held up in two buns and a dark leaf-green dress, making her remind Link of the Kokiri.

The redhead was the first to speak. "Welcome young ones. I am Din, Goddess of Earth and Power."

"I'm Nayru, Goddess of Sky and Wisdom." The blue-haired woman added.

"I'm Farore, Goddess of Life and Courage." The green-haired woman added too.

Link was in awe. The creation goddesses were actually speaking to him in person? There were _so_ many things this could mean. He wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything appropriate at the moment. After all, what could one say to a deity when she was right in front of you?

Romani was in awe too, but luckily for her she had always been the better speaker of the two. "It's a honor to meet you three. May I ask what it is you would like of us?"

It looked like this pleased the three goddesses. Din decided to be the one to answer here. "Well, first we wanted to thank you two for handling that jerk Fierce and his lackey Majora. Those two have been nothing but trouble from day one."

"But you have to admit they can really liven up a party. Like that time at Bacchus's where they spiked the ambrosia." Farore commented.

"Like someone actually needs to do that at a party held by a wine god." Din replied to her sister, then returning her attention to the two mortals. "Sorry about that. Anyway, we're really glad you helped weaken those two. We've already taken care of the rest. Those guys shouldn't bother you two anymore, even in your sleep."

"No disrespect, but why couldn't you have done something about it before?" Link asked.

Nayru was the one to answer this time. "You see, there are regulations about just what we can do to influence the mortal world. Even for us. Besides, both Fierce and Majora were in limbo at the time and we needed them to get out and where you were before we could really trap them. And the only way to get them out was to let them feel their plan worked."

"And besides, this was part of your fates, for both of you." Farore jumped in. "We needed to see how good the two of you worked together before we got you started on your real job."

"Real job?" Link and Romani said together, a little mortified.

"What she means is the duty we three have need of you two for." Nayru told them. "In a few weeks times, our avatars will be threatened, one by one. We need you to go save them."

"Avatars?" Link asked.

"Allow me to explain." Din started. "You see, all of the gods and goddesses, us included, can't just throw our power around in the mortal realm. That would create a lot of trouble. So we influence your world by having avatars, special people or spirits that are blessed and guided by us to do our will. As long as we maintain a connection to them, we can help the world in a safe way for you all. Usually thru them but not always."

"You are already familiar with several avatars, Hero of Time." Farore told him. "The seven Hyrulean sages are avatars of seven gods and goddesses, and the four guardian giants of Termina are avatars too."

"Wait. Does this mean that Majora and Fierce... had masks as theirs?" Romani asked.

Farore nodded. "Yeah. Their avatars long ago got way too rampaging and even rendered Messop into what it is today." Messop was the great desert east of Ikana, said to be where the first civilization originated from until it became uninhabitable. "So we felt we needed they needed something a little more docile, thus creating their masks. This way, they could still influence the world but only when somebody actually wore it."

"We figured it was a good idea at the time. After all, no one would wear a mask all the time and the world didn't need chaos and war gods to have too much influence." Nayru stated.

"But they found a way around it." Din added. "Those two managed to get those masks in the hands of easily corrupted people so often that it threatened to destroy yet another country. So we and a few other gods and goddesses had to seal them away in a purgatory realm and hide their dark masks." She then crossed her arms and sighed. "It worked, until that one guy came and brought Majora's Mask back into the open."

"We sadly had to release the Fierce Deity Mask in hopes they would destroy each other if you used it." Nayru told Link. "Instead, you just severed Majora's connection to his mask completely and awaken fierce's powers, which grew little by little until he could tear a hole out of purgatory and have him and Majora interact with Termina directly."

"Luckily for everyone you two were strong enough to take them both down." Farore remarked. "Now we've gotten Fierce's bond to his mask severed too and it's back in hiding where it belongs. Those two are back where they belong too. Even if they eventually _can_ get out again, it won't be for a long time."

Link sighed. "But now you want us to go fight some more enemies, right?"

"What? After fighting a war god this should be a piece of cake to you." Farore said.

"To be fair, _I _did most of the fighting." Romani pointed out.

"That's true." Din said. "We are sorry for asking this of you so soon, but it needs to be done. Besides, if you didn't, where would you go? Your home is destroyed and you can't go to Hyrule for three years anyway."

This got Link's attention. "What? But I thought the way back would be opening soon."

"It will, but you can't use it." Nayru replied. "You see, when Princess Zelda sent you back in time, she made a real mess of things for you. Link, you defeated Ganondorf when you were seventeen so when she sent you back to be ten again, he was still around doing stuff at that point of time. He wasn't just removed from the picture. So when she tried to give you your life back, she basically undid all the hard work you did."

Link looked surprised, and Nayru continued. "We felt this was cruel. To have you go thru all that and have it basically become pointless. So when she sent you back, we let you come back, but there were two of you. The original Link, which was still sealed away in the spiritual realm at the time, and you, the one that had already been thru it all."

_(Since this is confusing, think about it like the situation in Back to the Future 2, where there were two Marty's, the first one that was trying to go forward in time, and the second one that already had and had come back to fix something. Same basic principle here with Link. One is still waiting to fight Ganon, and one in MM and this fic who already did.)_

"Link, there is another you that is currently sealed away but will be released when he is seventeen and he will fight Ganondorf and free Hyrule. You meanwhile have already done all that and were brought here. If you were still in Hyrule those seven years, you would have really messed up the timeline." Din explained as best she could.

"So you decided to bring me to Termina to get me out of the way?" Link asked.

Farore nodded. "Yes. We almost let you leave and then find somewhere else to go when you were done, but we decided it was in your best interest to stay in Termina a little longer. Can you honestly say it was a bad thing?"

Link looked at Romani and held her hand. "No way. I wouldn't trade my time with Romani for anything."

Heavily blushing, Romani decided to ask something. "So you want us both to go help your avatars. Where are they?"

"Mine is in Holodrum. It is the first place you will be going." Din told them. "Then you will go to Labrynna and Abaren to help theirs. The whole thing should take you about three years, meaning then, Link, it will be safe for you and her to go to Hyrule. Since your past self will be done then and sent back in time himself, making it safe for you to be there again."

"How will we recognize your avatars?" Romani asked.

"We have taken on their forms. You'll know them because they look just like we do now." Farore told them. "Also, they will be using our names. It's tradition, so don't ask why."

"When do we leave?" Link asked.

"We'll let you two spend one more night here, but we'll send you to Holodrum tomorrow morning. You need to be there as soon as you can." Nayru answered. "Anything else?"

"What about Epona? What happened to her? Will she be with us?" Link asked, worried for his faithful ride.

"Don't worry. She is safe and where she belongs." Nayru said soothingly.

"We sent her to Lon Lon Ranch before she could be eaten. She's there now being cared for by her original owner, waiting to meet up with your past self. You won't see her again until you can go back to Hyrule. Sorry." Farore added.

Link sighed in relief. "Thanks. That's a load off my mind."

"Now, go rest up young ones. You've got a rough road ahead of you. Here, let me give you a few maps to show you where you'll be going later." Din declared before handing them some rolled-up pieces of paper. "Best of luck to you both."

Link and Romani were enveloped in another wave of light and were transported to the still empty Romani Ranch. Tatl and Tael had apparently been brought there too and circled around the two teens excitedly. "You're both alright! So it's all over?"

"For Termina it is. But we've still got things to do in other countries." Romani told them, patting both fairies gently.

"Really? Why?" Tael asked.

Link shrugged. "It's just what I do."

Romani gently elbowed him. "It's what _we_ do, Grasshopper. You're not doing this alone."

Link smiled softly and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you're right. After all, where would you go if you stayed here anyway?"

Romani smiled, then yawned. "I'm tired. Let's get some sleep."

"Wait. There's something I think we should do first." Link countered.

Link and Romani soon grabbed some boards and made a cross they stuck in the ground where the house used to be. Using his sword he carved the name Cremia Romani onto it and both held a little memorial for their sister and guardian, who died because of their latest enemy. Feeling drained afterwards, both got out a blanket and fell asleep outside, with the two fairies close by for comfort and warmth.

--

All over Termina that night, people could see the clear sky and stars again. People could go outside without fear now, for nothing was going to grab them from out of the sky. The red beasts dubbed Scowlets had apparently turned into normal cows, having originally been the cows stolen from the ranch the night before all this happened. Things were finally returning to normal.

Soldiers were guiding the residences of Clocktown go back home, warning them that major repairs would have to be done. The deku, gorons, zoras, and gerudos were even seeing that the threat was gone and they could relax. All over Termina, everyone was thanking the ones who saved them, but only a few knew who had actually done it. Anju, Kafei, and their son sent a silent 'thank you' to the two young heroes they knew were responsible for this. They hoped to see them soon to say it in person. One particular gerudo also sent out a silent 'thank you' for the young man she knew had done it all. A group of zora children played to their hearts content out in the open sea watched by their mother, all knowing who to thank also.

--

Morning came, and Tatl and Tael woke up when they suddenly felt cold. When they got the sleep out of their eyes, they saw Link and Romani, along with their blanket and possessions, had just disappeared. No flashs of light, no barriers lifting them, they just disappeared. And wherever they were, they were going to face more threats for a long time.

Tatl sighed. "Best of luck to you, Link. Hope to see you again someday."

With that, the two fairies left the deserted ranch, praying for the ranch girl who became a heroine and the foreign boy who was no longer trapped in Termina.

THE END

_To be continued in The Oracle Objects_

_Summary: Having finished everything in Termina, Link has more to do before he can go back to Hyrule. He has to save three women from hidden dark forces that wish to corrupt their powers, wreck havac on people, and steal their prized treasures. But Link's not about to let that happen, and he's got Romani helping him thru it all, from changing seasons to centuries. Based on Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, and maybe another game. Brief reference to Link's Awakening. Farore will have a part in this too, not just Din and Nayru._


End file.
